


To Find A Little Bit Of Happiness

by aegicheols (treasuregyu)



Series: Cheolhyo Family AU [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band), TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Light Angst, Romance, Single Parents, Slow Burn, child chan, child hansol, child momo, child school meal club, single dad seungcheol, single mom jihyo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 13:50:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 42,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13928415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treasuregyu/pseuds/aegicheols
Summary: Life hasn't been easy for the both of them, far from it, but they make sure to keep it all pushed down as they work hard and smile harder for the little joys in their lives.





	1. about this and that (prologue)

Seungcheol is twenty when he and Jeonghan are set to adopt the son of their dreams, Hansol Vernon Choi. He’s a quiet one—and Jeonghan actually wanted a daughter at first—but to Seungcheol who came all the way to busy New York in _America_ (“We don’t speak enough English _combined_ , Cheol,”) to chase all of his dreams of freedom, little Hansol’s eyes sparkled with promises to give them the world. Hansol ends up smiling (apparently for the first time) at Jeonghan and the other was sold, holding the baby in his arms so easily, like he had always been his parent. Seungcheol stared on as Jeonghan cooed at Hansol, and then at the workers helping them who simply smiled and gave them a moment, and he thinks about how he already is enjoying the sweet taste of freedom.

Seungcheol is twenty-five, and he’s bent over backwards to become the best damn office worker he could be so that his (and _only_ his, a somber thought that clutches his heart from time to time and never lets go) now five-year-old Hansol Vernon Choi can live the best five-year-old life he possibly could; although, to Hansol, living his best life was watching Pororo—well, having it on as background noise—while he colored quietly. Sometimes his best life included ice cream during times he probably shouldn’t be having ice cream, but Seungcheol gives it to him anyways because he’s such a good boy and it really doesn’t hurt to have a little more ice cream sometimes.

 

Jisoo is eighteen when she runs away with a man by the name of Mark Tuan; he’s twenty-two and a bad decision according to everyone else, but she’s in love and he tells her that he is, too. Besides, Jisoo thinks as she flies 1500 kilometers from South Korea to Taiwan (they skipped heading back to Los Angeles, where Mark’s family is), she’s not sure if she can do much about her situation now as she looks down at her stomach that’s began to show a little bit. Mark gives her one of his signature soft, easy smiles and even though his voice is a little shaky, he made sure to promise her forever.

Jihyo is twenty three—long since back in South Korea, long since she’s heard from Mark—working as a simple florist (when she’s not giving piano lessons, or teaching little kids how to sing). Tzuyu is now five-years-old and despite not living in Taiwan for very long, her accent is still present around the edges of her Korean. It’s endearing though, not just to Jihyo, but to literally everyone around the little girl who can’t stop gushing about her big eyes (just like her mother’s, they say, and it makes Jihyo smile) and her adorably chubby cheeks (might be from her father, but Jihyo doesn’t want to think about that).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's so many different jihyo ship drafts in my drive, but i'm satisfied with any of them/i don't want to work on them right now. anyways, i don't remember where this idea came from, probs one of my unending emotional inner monologues about how hansol is seungcheol's whole son ;;;;;;; and then it probably inspired another unending emotional inner monologue about tzuyu is jihyo's whole daughter
> 
> like i said in my tags, i genuinely don't know where i'm going with this fic.....;;;;;;; i'm so bad at writing long fics, so it'll take me like 500 million years to "properly" plan this out (like that goddamn cheolsoohan fic i started jdls)


	2. there's a you and there's a me

Seungcheol squinted as he exited his office building, the late afternoon sun blinding its natural light into his eyes, a stark contrast to the white fluorescents lining the building. He was already tugging at his collar as he made his way to his car, slipping off his “hardworking businessman” persona as he slid into the driver’s seat. He ran a hand through his hair that honestly feels _terrible_ from all of the gel, but it all falls down into his face eventually just like he wanted it to. He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it into the passenger’s seat before finally starting his car and pulling out of the parking garage. The journey to the Kindergarten after work was his favorite, because the children got out early, which meant Seungcheol got off of work early because he didn’t have a wife that would be subjected to staying home and taking care of all of that nor does he have any family he can rely on (not anymore)—he did have friends, though, well one friend in particular; Jihoon, who worked from home, had been his main babysitter while he first started working at his current company. Surprisingly, Jihoon had taken a liking to Hansol, and offered to pick the younger up from school, so Seungcheol could work properly, but Seungcheol stubbornly rejected as Jihoon should have expected.

 

Seungcheol zoned back into reality as he approached the school, pulling into the parking lot smoothly and even securing his usual parking space that’s closer to the exit. He got out of his car with a grunt and somberly thought about how he’s getting old (or at least _acting_ like he was) as he walked up to the building. Hansol’s class was more towards the back, which was the worst part of picking his son up. The teachers loved to stare Seungcheol up and down, even now, when it’s been _months_ and he still hasn’t given them anything juicy to sink their teeth into. He had told them that yes, he was young, and yes, he was even younger when he adopted Hansol. He didn’t elaborate on his relationship situation, the adoption situation, not even his family situation. All he allowed the teachers to know was that he was a well-off enough to take care of Hansol and himself, and that he wasn’t necessarily looking for anything more than what he had at the moment.

 

“Oh, Mr. Choi, right on time as always,” Hansol’s teacher, a Miss Lee Sunmi, smiled cheerfully and gave him her usual hug; she pat his back firmly before pulling away. Ms. Lee was the only teacher that _didn’t_ make Seungcheol uncomfortable, and it might have been because she was a very obvious lesbian (“It’s not _that_ obvious since the others keep trying to get me a boyfriend,” She had said while rolling her eyes), but it might have also had something to do with the way that she knew when to back away from uncharted waters and instead of trying to sail the never to be known, she talked to Seungcheol about other miscellaneous things—work, Hansol’s day, or the drama that they’re both obsessed with.

 

“Never not in a hurry to leave work, but also never not excited to see the light of my life,” Seungcheol replied with a casual smile.

 

“Why thank you, I happen to have that effect on people,” Sunmi joked, and they both laughed heartily. Seungcheol turned towards the rest of the room, eyes scanning the sparse crowd of playing kids for his son. He spotted Hansol within seconds, surrounded by a small group of girls. “those are his best friends, or at least, that’s what Dahyunnie declared the other day. Hansol didn’t refuse, mainly because Chaeng lets him use her 64-pack of crayons and that girl is _picky_ about her crayons.”

 

Seungcheol nodded along to the information. It being the first time he’s heard any of this. “Is it the one with the sharpener?” He turned back towards Sunmi.

 

“It’s definitely the one with the sharpener,” Sunmi affirmed with a singular, serious nod.

  
“Wow, that kid has her life together,” Seungcheol grinned and Sunmi snorted behind her hand and slapped at Seungcheol’s shoulder slightly. Seungcheol bowed before heading over to Hansol and his best friends. “Hey kiddo, having fun?” Seungcheol plopped down next to the group and Hansol smiled big and bright.

 

“Dad!” Hansol crawled into Seungcheol’s lap, and with a bit of lifting from Seungcheol, wrapped his tiny arms around his dad’s neck. Seungcheol laughed and pressed kisses to his son’s head, soft locks of brown hair brushing pleasantly against his face. “Wanna meet my friends?” Hansol pulled back and looked at his dad expectantly.

 

“Of course, kiddo,” Seungcheol leaned in and rubbed his nose against Hansol’s before setting the younger down. Hansol crawled out of his dad’s lap and walked the very short steps back over to the girls. “This is Dahyunnie, Chaeng, and _Chewy_ ,”

 

“It’s _Tzuyu_ ,” The three girls reiterated in unison, amused at Hansol’s pronunciation. Seungcheol laughed along with them, especially since Hansol’s face flushed a bit pink.

 

The little girl with pale skin and sharp, yet soft eyes stepped up and saluted. “School Meal Club leader, Im Dahyun!” The little girl’s smide was wide, all of her baby teeth showing proudly, and her eyes disappeared as she did so. Seungcheol saluted back to her as he vaguely thought about how she looked similar to a bunny he saw in a storybook recently.

 

The next little girl stepped up, short black hair and obviously shorter than the others even though they were all fairly tiny. She smiled awkwardly and looked towards Dahyun before saluting with less enthusiasm. “Yoo Chaeyoung—ah, School Meal Club, Yoo Chaeyoung…” The little girl cringed before falling into a fit of laughter and turning away hurriedly before Seungcheol could salute back to her as well.

 

“Dahyunnie, Chaengie, your mothers are here!” Sunmi called sweetly and the small group looked towards the door. Seungcheol’s brows raised as four women stood at the entrance of the classroom. Dahyun and Chaeyoung reluctantly gathered their things and hurried over to their moms. Dahyun ran up to women who scooped her up like they haven’t seen her in _days_ , cooing at her and smothering her with kisses. Seungcheol could see that one with black hair pulled back into a messy bun had charming bunny teeth and he smiled while thinking “Like mother, like daughter.” Chaeyoung on the other hand, was thrown up into the air by a woman with shoulder length, blonde hair before being situated on her shoulders. Her other mother, Seungcheol could only assume, scolded the blonde with a light smack to her shoulder.

 

“Bye bye, Tzuyu, Hansollie, and Mr. Hansollie’s dad!” Dahyun exclaimed and waved wildly, causing all of the adults to laugh. Chaeyoung waved goodbye to her friends as well, and then the group of mothers were off. Seungcheol took the time to look around the classroom, not knowing how empty it got within the few minutes he’s been here. He turned back towards his son and the last remaining little girl.

 

The little girl stared up at Seungcheol awkwardly; she had big, puppy dog eyes and what seemed like a perpetual pout on her face. The little girl glanced towards Hansol and then she stood behind him, although it was somewhat useless because she was a tall little girl and her eyes peeked from above his head anyways. “I’m Park Tzuyu,” She said quietly without the “School Meal Club” and the salute.

 

“Nice to meet you, Tzuyu,” Seungcheol uttered the little girl’s name slowly, but it still came out awkwardly. He smiled his best “goofy and harmless” dad smile and he thinks he sees her mouth quirk up a bit from behind Hansol.

 

“Dad, can we not leave until Tzu-yu’s mom comes?” Hansol asked, also taking his time pronouncing Tzuyu’s name so that he says it correctly this time.

 

“Sure, kiddo,” Seungcheol agrees because they don’t have anything to do and he really couldn’t take the tug on his heart as the little girl’s shoulders relaxed and her expression eased. She didn’t want to be alone, and it showed in the way she tugged Hansol over to the building blocks to play, smile wide and movements excited. Seungcheol smiled as he watched the two play, this being the first time he’s seen Hansol _really_ play. He wonders if he should have met with the mothers of Dahyun and Chaeyoung so that they could set up a play date one day.

 

“Sunmi unnie, oh my god, I’m so sorry!” A young woman with light brown hair and big eyes rushed into the quiet room, her voice was loud and breathless and it startled everyone present. “Tzuyu, baby, I’m sorry I’m late,” She whined after receiving a hug from Sunmi, scurrying over to the little girl. She cupped her daughter’s face into her hands and pressed apologetic kisses all over. Tzuyu giggled and kissed her mother back, raising her arms to be picked up, which the woman does, hugging her daughter close. Seungcheol picked himself up from the floor, groaning again as more of his bones pop than they should at the age of twenty-five, and he goes over to Hansol to pick him up as well.

 

“Mr. Hansollie’s dad, this is my mommy,” Tzuyu leaned into her motherly happily, and the more Seungcheol looks, he can _definitely_ see the resemblances, mostly in the eyes. Tzuyu’s mother had big eyes too, but contrary to her daughter her whose resting face looked a bit sad, her mother’s face was kind and warm.

 

“Oh, hello, I’m Park Jihyo. I’m really sorry for being late, but thank you _so_ much for staying with Tzuyu,” Jihyo smiled and Seungcheol had to admit, he felt as breathless as she was. She was stunning as is, and even more so when she smiled.

 

“Choi Seungcheol, and no problem, it was nice to see _Hansollie_ playing with others for once,” Seungcheol grinned as he teased his son about his cute nickname, snuggling the child closer to him. Hansol pouted and flushed pink once again, and Tzuyu and her mother just laughed. Both Seungcheol and Jihyo said goodbyes to Sunmi before leaving the building together, the two children still talking happily together. Seungcheol and Jihyo don’t go into much detail about themselves, but Seungcheol did give Jihyo a deeper explanation of his situation than he usual did; he mentioned how he had a partner that he adopted Hansol with, but the partner unfortunately left him. Jihyo nodded along and explained how she got pregnant unexpectedly with a man four years older than her and he ended up leaving her with a baby in Taiwan.

 

Seungcheol recounted his story with subtle heartbreak that showed in his eyes, but Jihyo simply laughed her past away. When Seungcheol looked at her questioningly, she just shrugged it off and said it wasn’t so bad. He left her with enough money to fly back to South Korea at least, although he didn’t think about how her mother wouldn’t let her come back and how she had to stay with her struggling college student friends until she could afford to be on her own. Seungcheol still doesn’t think her story is anything to laugh at, if anything, it made his heart break even _worse_. However, they didn’t have time to press the matter anymore because they were at Seungcheol’s car.

 

“Sorry I can’t offer you a ride,” Seungcheol said as he buckles Hansol into his carseat, placing his tiny book bag next to him.

 

Jihyo chuckled. “It’s fine, it’s not anything we’re not used to, right?” Jihyo looked down at Tzuyu who looked as if the day had finally caught up to her. She was tucked into her mother’s neck, eyes blinking slow. “Thank you, again, for staying with Tzuyu, she gets lonely real easy. I hope I can catch you again sometime? I’m sure the kids would love to play over the weekend or something?”

 

“No problem, I know the struggle of being a bit late, too. It’s hard, but I can see that you’re doing a great job, Tzuyu is lovely.” Seungcheol smiled, warm and light. “And I was just thinking about how I should have gotten Dahyun and Chaeyoung’s mother’s info before they left.” At that, Jihyo brightened and she dug out her cellphone.

 

“Don’t worry about that, I know their mothers...probably _too_ well.” Jihyo made a disgruntled face, but she smiled and laughed immediately after. “Here, you can give me your number and I’ll contact you when we get home, a good confirmation that we’re safe to ease your mind. I’ll make sure to tell the other’s about you, too. I’m sure Nayeon and Sana are absolutely dying to know about one of the single fathers here, but don’t worry, I won’t tell them too much.” Seungcheol took Jihyo’s phone and put in his number, laughing as she talked about her friends fondly. He handed the phone back to her when he was finished, and she slipped it back into her pocket.

 

Seungcheol squinted as the sunlight of mid evening shone in his eyes. “Alright, well, I should let you go. Don’t want it to get too dark on your way home,” Seungcheol shut the car door he was holding open, not wanting to keep Hansol shut in.

 

“Yeah, catch you around,” Jihyo waved and Tzuyu did too after being shaken a bit by Jihyo. Seungcheol softened at the little girl’s slow, tired wave goodbye and he hope it wasn’t too creepy as he watched Jihyo walk across parking lot and out of the school’s gate. He sighed, once again regretting not being able to give her a ride home, and as he slides into his car, starting it up and heading on the journey back to his own apartment, he hopes her home isn’t too far away.


	3. common courtesy, or something like that

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> halfway through writing chapter 2 i realized i was writing chapter 3, so chapter 3 shouldn't be too much of a far off dream lol

“Alright,” Seungcheol muttered to himself as he got up from Hansol’s bed gently and tucked the little boy in. He pressed a soft kiss to Hansol’s forehead and ran his fingers through soft locks of brown hair before exiting the room, leaving a crack in the door as always. Seungcheol sighed as he made his way down the hall, digging his phone out of his sweats and unlocking it with hopes that he somehow missed a notification from Jihyo—he didn’t. She still hasn’t texted him and it was getting late.

 

It’s a bit later than most Kindergartens do it, but the children get out at nearly four in the afternoon. Jihyo had arrived late, and then they still stayed to talk a bit which meant they had both left at five. It was currently seven and the sun had long since retired; Seungcheol managed to go through his entire afternoon routine with Hansol—after school play time, dinner, bath time, and then story time—without a single text of confirmation from the single mother. Too often had Seungcheol began to wonder if he should text or call her to make sure that she was alright, but he was met with disappointment every time he realized that he only gave her _his_ number without getting one in return.

 

“Maybe I should contact Ms. Lee…? Or would that be weird? I never contact her, especially this late, so it might be a little weird. More for me than for her, I bet…” Seungcheol rambled as he sunk down onto the living room couch, turning on the television to distract himself. He flipped channels mindlessly until he landed on a drama that he liked enough and allowed himself to get immersed into the plot despite all of his worrying. Halfway into the episode, a bag of chips, and a slight emotional breakdown later, Seungcheol finally gets a text.

 

 **unknown number:** Hey, it’s me, Jihyo (Tzuyu’s mom)! Sorry it took so long for me to contact you, but we’re home safely!

 

Seungcheol let out a sigh of relief, and before he could reply, Jihyo sent another text. This time, it was with a picture attached; they were in front of what appeared to be the door to their home, Tzuyu was comfortably curled into Jihyo’s neck, sound asleep, and Jihyo was smiling as wide as ever. She looked tired, though, and Seungcheol’s mood deflated a bit. She quickly saved Jihyo’s number before replying.

 

 **Jihyo** : [sent an attachment]

 

 **Seungcheol:** Glad to see you home safely, but it’s really late. I promise I’ll be able to drop you off next time.

 **Seungcheol:** And no, it’s not a bother, don’t worry about it lol :)

 

Seungcheol sent that last text quickly, already being able to hear Jihyo’s refusal in his head despite having just met. Jihyo’s reply took a while, which Seungcheol assumed she was taking care of Tzuyu, the little girl needed dinner and a bath before she headed off to sleep for good, after all. So, Seungcheol placed his phone to the side and tried to refocus on the drama, diving back into his near empty bag of chips and steeled himself from having another slight emotional breakdown (second-lead syndrome always got to him, and he refused to get into why exactly that is).

 

After the drama went off and Seungcheol was out of chips (and tears, which he couldn’t help), the man turned everything off and made sure everything was in order before grabbing phone and heading to his room. He sighed peacefully as he slipped under the covers, the soft bedding never failing to make him feel instantly relaxed—he’s glad that Jeonghan convinced him once upon a time that if he were going to splurge on anything, it should be a good bed. Before he got too comfortable, though, Seungcheol received another text.

 

 **Jihyo** : Alright, sorry about that, just had to tend to Tzuyu

 **Jihyo:** And, I know you said don’t worry about it, but I really am sorry for being a nuisance. Thank you for all of the worry and help, though. I appreciate it more than anything.

 **Jihyo:** Hope you have a good night! :)

 

 **Seungcheol:** No problem, hope you sleep well tonight, too

 

And with that, Seungcheol was hooking up his phone to charge and snuggling under the covers even more. As usual, he went over the day he had in his head, making note of the projects he finished and the projects he still had to get done next time. He checked his bedside calendar by the light of his cellphone and reminded himself that tomorrow was indeed Saturday. The last thing he thought of before drifting off to sleep was how he needed to stop by the mall tomorrow to get another car seat and how he could possibly bribe Hansol into agreeing to the idea.


	4. (not-so) great mall adventure

“No.” Hansol pouted.

 

“Hansol,” Seungcheol sighed.

 

“No, thank you.” Hansol reiterated softly, turning away from his father.

 

Seungcheol cracked a smile. “Thank you for being nice, but we’re still going,”

 

“ _ Daddy, _ ” Hansol whined, eyes shining with tears. Seungcheol got up from his side of the table and scooped his son up. Hansol, despite the feeling of utter betrayal, wrapped his tiny arms around Seungcheol’s neck and buried his face into his father’s shoulder. Seungcheol hugged his son close and rocked him in an attempt to calm him down. “I don’t like that place.”

 

“I know, kiddo, but we won’t be there for long. We go in, get what we need to get, and then we’re out.”  _ Hopefully. _

 

“Nuh uh, we’re going to be there  _ forever _ . Just like always,” Hansol replied with a pout, and he was right. It was never a quick “in and out” because 1) Seungcheol was a single father, a young one at that, and 2) Hansol wasn’t fully Korean so that obviously meant there was a backstory to explore; they attracted all kinds of attention, and it might have given his son some kind of trauma (on top of the fact that Hansol just doesn’t really like busy places).

 

“What if I told you it was for Tzuyu and her mommy?” Seungcheol almost smirked as his son pulled back and looked at him, various emotions crossing over his small face.

 

“It’s for Tzu—yu and her mommy?” Hansol’s eyes sparkled with consideration.

 

Seungcheol nodded. “Yep, because Tzuyu and her mommy need a little help sometimes, and daddy wants to help them out since he can. Do you want to help them too?” Hansol nodded furiously and Seungcheol smiled big and bright. Seungcheol nuzzled up to his son who complained about his chin being itchy, so Seungcheol switched to giving Hansol kisses. Hansol giggled and tried to escape his father’s arms, and Seungcheol refused to let him go for a little while until Hansol started exclaiming about having to pee. As soon as Seungcheol let go of Hansol, the little one ran to the bathroom (Seungcheol was surprised, assuming his son had only used that as an excuse). Seungcheol ended up following him down the hall, preparing his and Hansol’s outfits for the day before heading back to the bathroom so they can wash up and make themselves presentable.

 

“Dad, you look...different,” Hansol looked his father up and down and Seungcheol wondered how his five-year-old learned to be so mature (read: subtly judgemental with the perfect hint of sass; honestly, he was a bit impressed). Nonetheless, Seungcheol looked his own self up and down in the mirror in front of them. He was wearing the bare minimum in terms of style, his goal for the day being to not attract  _ as _ much attention as usual—he was simply wearing a classic white tee, some grey sweats, and he’s been considering wearing a bucket hat as well, but raising a child has made him feel years older than he actually was, so he’s leaning more towards not wearing it.

 

“I’m going incognito, kiddo,” Seungcheol smiled down at his son despite the judgement he recieved.

 

“In...In-con-gito?” Hansol tried to sound it out, his brows knitting together as he worked the word through his head.

 

“In-cog-nito,” Seungcheol repeated with a laugh. Hansol tried it again, and although it was still a bit shaky, he nailed it nonetheless and Seungcheol ruffled his hair. “see you got it!”

 

“What does it mean?” Hansol asked as he stepped down from his stool, done preparing for their outing. He dragged it over to the side near the tub and sat on it, watching on as Seungcheol finally began to shave.

 

“It means to be in disguise, you know, like undercover….ah! Sneaky!” Seungcheol explained.

 

“Ooooh,” Hansol drew out the sound in realization, nodding his head. “what about me, dad?”

 

“You’re too cute to be incognito,” Seungcheol peeked over just in time to see Hansol grimace before letting out a little giggle. The two continued conversation as Seungcheol finished up shaving, and then they were heading out the door. Seungcheol played rocket with Hansol all the way to the car, hopefully distracting him for the time being.

 

The drive to the mall was spent singing along to all sorts of children’s songs and Seungcheol trying not to cause an accident due to laughing at Hansol’s failed attempts at high notes. When they got there, it was as busy as Seungcheol expected, and he could hear Hansol sigh softly accompanied with a little whine. For a moment, Seungcheol wondered if he should have left Hansol in Jihoon’s care during this small trip. Nonetheless, Seungcheol parked and retrieved Hansol from the backseat, holding onto the little one knowing very well Hansol would rather miss an episode of Pororo than walk to his untimely demise (those weren’t his exact words, but it was pretty much what the little boy had said to Seungcheol once).

 

Their entrance to the mall was smooth; Hansol buried his face into Seungcheol’s chest while Seungcheol made eye contact with exactly no one, and he wondered if the mask he decided to slip on last minute and the cap pressing his bangs to his forehead, covering nearly the other half of his face, had something to do with his unapproachability. He’s not complaining, though, because they manage to make it to the second floor just as smoothly as they entered.

 

“Daddy, I hate it here,” Hansol whined as he looked up at Seungcheol. Seungcheol pulled down his mask with his free hand and pressed a kiss to Hansol’s forehead as he stepped off the escalator.

 

“I know, sweetie, do you want something to play with? There’s a toy store over there?” Seungcheol began making his way over to the store despite Hansol’s delayed, slow nod. Seungcheol smiled as Hansol pulled his mask back up for him, patting it gently with his small hands. They entered the toy store that was, unsurprisingly, a bit busy and Seungcheol made a beeline for Hansol’s favorites. “Which one do you want, Sol? I don’t think you have one like this?” Seungcheol pointed to a stuffed Shin-chan toy, but Hansol shook his head after Seungcheol discovered that you could pull its pants down. Seungcheol went down the aisle slowly, pointing out different toys that Hansol might like, but not quite hitting the jackpot.

 

Almost as soon as they turned the corner, Hansol gasped lightly and pointed out at a doll with more speed than Seungcheol has ever seen him display. “That one, daddy!” He exclaimed quietly, and Seungcheol walked towards where Hansol was pointing, the little boy daring to reach further and further out the closer Seungcheol got.

 

“Wah-boo-fey!” Hansol exclaimed happily despite not being able to pronounce the name correctly, and he hugged the toy close to him, his smile big and bright. Seungcheol hugged Hansol closer to him and nuzzled the little boy’s head.

 

“You are the love of my life, kiddo.” Seungcheol said as he moved his mask down to press small kisses to Hansol’s forehead again. “So this is the one?”

 

“Yeah!” Hansol snuggled up to the toy and Seungcheol smiled warmly. The man made his way to the cash register, easily maneuvering his card out of his wallet as he went to pay. He managed to luck out on any personal questions, the cashier being a teenage male who looked ready for his lunch break already. With a refusal of a bag and quick thanks, Seungcheol and Hansol were off to their original destination.

 

“Thank you, daddy,” Hansol giggled and leaned into Seungcheol’s chest once more. The little boy looked a lot more relaxed than when they first came in and Seungcheol was more than grateful.

 

“No problem, sweetie. You always make it worth it,” Seungcheol muttered the last part more so to himself than to Hansol as he makes his way over to the baby and toddler store. It’s a bit of a walk, and with Hansol too occupied with his toy to bury his face into Seungcheol’s chest and Seungcheol’s mask pulled down once more, he’s gotten a couple of stares and was even stopped a few times. They made it though, but Seungcheol knew this is where the real war began. Seungcheol pulled out a shopping cart and situated Hansol into it (Hansol didn’t like the ones with the cars because he couldn’t see his father and that scared him, and when Junhui asked Seungcheol if he cried about that, he quickly answered a resolute “Yes, I absolutely cried, thank you for asking”).

 

“Oh, how cute!”

 

“Is that really your son?”

 

“You look awfully young…”

 

“Where’s the wife?”

 

Seungcheol smiled tightly as he navigated his way through young mothers and the middle aged women living through them. He repeated flat responses of “Thank you”, “Yes, he’s my son”, “That feels good to hear being halfway to thirty”, and his personal favorite, “Oh, there’s no wife…” like a mantra. He dodged personal questions with even more strained smiles and excuses of needing to complete this errand quickly before lunch (which wasn’t really an excuse, because he’ll be damned if these women make his baby boy starve for even a second).

 

“Finally,” Seungcheol sighed heavily as he finally reached the section where the car seats were. He carefully looked through each and every one, even the really expensive ones although he knew he wasn’t going to get them. He ended up settling for a heftily priced purple car seat, since this was for the sake of someone else’s kid, after all. He lifted the box and settled it into the cart—right next to Hansol—with ease. Hansol stared at the car seat, confused, and then he looked back up his father for the first time since they got into the store.

 

“Dad, I already have one of these, right?” Hansol questioned, placing a small hand on the box.

 

“Yep, but this is for Tzuyu and her mommy, remember?” Seungcheol leaned against the cart as he pushed it back through the store towards the cash register. Some of the ladies from before eye him and he bows to the ones who he accidentally makes eye contact with awkwardly. There’s a small line at the register that shook Seungcheol’s nerves a bit, he didn’t like being idle in this store for too long, it made him uncomfortable because it made him susceptible to small talk.

 

“We can get you over here, sir,” A cheerful voice called out to Seungcheol and gestured over to her register. Seungcheol sighed in relief and hurriedly moved over to her line. He picked the box up and set it on the conveyor, silently hoping that this teen was just like the last he encountered and didn’t care much for small talk.

 

Unfortunately, Seungcheol’s never really been the overly lucky type.

 

“So,” the girl started, smile bright as she takes her time checking Seungcheol out (and man, does he wish that he only meant his item). “is he your kid?” She completed, and Seungcheol figured that he’d try extra hard to reel in the annoyance since he is just a teen (at least, that’s what he’s been assuming).

 

“Yeah, I adopted him when he was a baby,” Seungcheol replied smoothly, contemplating whether he should point out that he did so with his  _ partner _ and not  _ wife _ .

 

“Your wife not able to have kids?” She followed up with a sad look on her face, as if his theoretical wife not being able to have kids was the worst thing in the world.

 

“No, no, there was never any wife,” Seungcheol smiled and he couldn’t help the tightness around the edges. The girl nodded and she began ringing Seungcheol up a bit quicker. Whatever realization she came upon, Seungcheol wasn’t sure, but he was glad for it, whatever it was.

 

“So, did you adopt another kid, or…?” The girl asked as Seungcheol paid.

 

Seungcheol paused, because he figured that while that wasn’t really the case, it wasn’t entirely wrong either.  “In a way, I guess I did,” He settled with, taking his card back and putting back into his wallet. Seungcheol assumed that the girl didn’t exactly know what to say to that, so she finalized the transaction in silence. She said her standard customer service goodbyes and Seungcheol smiled politely and bowed as he took the box and placed it into the cart once again.

 

“Why is everyone so nosy?” Hansol questioned when the two of them were by the entrance again.

 

“Because we’re two very beautiful humans,” Seungcheol answered as he stuffed his wallet into his pockets with his phone and gathered a giggling Hansol into his arms before grabbing the box out of the cart. He put the cart back into place before finally leaving the store and heading back down.

 

Exiting the mall was much, much easier than entering, Seungcheol found. He figured it was the fact that he was carrying a kid and a huge box, and no one would want to inconvenience him (despite the fact that he was hardly exerting himself). After situating the box into the seat adjacent from Hansol, and strapping his son into his own car seat, Seungcheol slid back into his car with a pleased sigh. However, before he could start the car, his phone buzzed.

 

**Jihyo:** Hey, sorry to bother you, but I need a little pick up if it’s not too much trouble…

**Jihyo:** It started raining down my way, and just as we were about to leave :(

 

**Seungcheol:** Sure, no problem, I already told you you’re not a bother lol it’s actually perfect timing

**Seungcheol:** Where am I headed?

 

**Jihyo:** You’re honestly a life saver. Really, thank you! :D

**Jihyo:** [location sent]

**Jihyo:** Sorry if it’s a bit far…

 

**Seungcheol:** Not too bad, a good little drive to calm Hansol’s nerve after forcing him to come to the mall lol

**Seungcheol:** I’ll be there as soon as I can ^_^

 

Seungcheol docked his phone in it’s holder after setting the GPS. “Sollie, we’re going to go on a little drive okay? Tzuyu and her mommy are gonna get their surprise today!” Seungcheol cheered a bit exaggeratedly, but it spurred Hansol on nonetheless, which made Seungcheol smile all wide and gummy as usual. He glanced back at his son who looked comfortable and excited before exiting the mall parking lot and heading on his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had to google seventeen with pokemon to find a pic for plushie inspo (since idols always have their pokemon equivalent) and i ended up finding vernon with a wobbuffet one. honestly the greatest search of my life, considering woozi is literally skitty and jeonghan is literally squirtle.


	5. just like a romcom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look at me not waiting for months to pass before i update! what an icon! what a legend!

During the drive over to the location that Jihyo sent, it began to rain; first it was light and soothing, but then Seungcheol noticed that it had picked up the closer he got. It wasn’t a shower by any means, but it was definitely not weather someone should be trying to face, let alone with a child. Seungcheol ended the drive by pulling up to a small florist shop, Jihyo and Tzuyu sitting at the singular table sitting right outside the front. Tzuyu was seated in Jihyo’s lap—posture perfect still, something he had noticed from the moment he met her—while her mother’s arms wrapped comfortably around her waist; the two gazed out at the rain, in something like a trance. The sight of the two made Seungcheol smiled softly to himself, they really looked like twins at this moment.

 

“Dad, wake up~” Hansol called out from the back seat with a giggle in his voice.

 

“I’m awake~” Seungcheol replied, snapping out of his own trance and unbuckling his seat belt. He left the car in a hurry, calling out to Jihyo to signify his presence. The woman jolted (Tzuyu did not, however, as she simply blinked slowly and turned towards the car’s direction) and she began to rise, but Seungcheol stopped her. He brought out the newly bought car seat and brought it under the safety of the awning.

 

“Did you really buy a car seat for Tzuyu?” Jihyo asked as she got up from her seat, placing Tzuyu there instead. “You’re really something else, you know? Here, let me go get you a towel and something to help you open the box,” Jihyo patted Seungcheol’s shoulder with a myriad of emotions twinkling in her eyes, but they looked fond nonetheless. She disappeared into the building to retrieve the offered items and Seungcheol spent the short waiting time showing off the car seat to Tzuyu.

 

“Do you like this color?” He asked the little girl who had slid out of the chair and cautiously made her way over. Tzuyu inspected the box for a short moment, poking the picture and glancing at Seungcheol before answering. She nodded her head with a shy smile, moving to hug the box. Seungcheol huffed out a laugh and patted Tzuyu’s head lightly. “Oooh, so cute,” Seungcheol smiled, wide and gummy.

 

“I guess she really likes it,” Jihyo had returned with a towel, a pair of scissors, and also a knife (“Just in case,”). “Do you like it, sweetie?” Jihyo asked, bending down to Tzuyu’s level with a endearing smile on her face. Tzuyu nodded once more, this time she was less shy about it and her smile was dazzling. Jihyo entertained Tzuyu while Seungcheol worked on opening the box; the process was smooth and quick, and before Jihyo knew it, Seungcheol was placing the knife and scissors on the table and hanging the towel over the chair before rushing around to the other side of the car to set up the car seat.

 

After he was done, Seungcheol hurried back under the awning, much more drenched than before, but he didn’t look bothered. “Alright, everything’s good to go!” Seungcheol watched as Jihyo nodded a bit distractedly, and he offered to get Tzuyu situated into the car while Jihyo put away the tools and dealt with the cardboard. As Jihyo gathered the things, she watched as Seungcheol removed the cap he was wearing and placed it gently on Tzuyu’s head (the little girl giggled because the hat was big and Seungcheol smiled endearingly at her) before also securing the towel around her so she wouldn’t get wet.

 

When Jihyo had exited the building for the second time, Seungcheol was waiting for her with the towel; his bangs were slightly curled and pressed against his forehead and his shirt—his plain  _ white _ and easily see-through when wet shirt—was sticking to him even more now and Jihyo resisted the urge to stare a bit too long. She hesitantly made her way over to Seungcheol who, in turn, wasted no time in draping the towel over her and guiding her to the passenger’s seat, managing to get not one drop on the woman as she entered the car. Seungcheol was finally able to seek relief from the rain as he got into the driver’s seat, towel draped across his head despite the fact that it was now pretty drenched itself.

 

Jihyo sighed. “Look at you…” She followed it up with a soft whine. “You’re drenched, I’m really sorry about this…”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Seungcheol said once again, as if it were his catchphrase. “you know, when I was a kid, I loved playing in the rain. It’s refreshing, really. Makes you feel alive in a weirdly special kind of way.” Seungcheol grinned, pulling away from the florist and heading in the direction of the nearest gas station. After getting gas—which Jihyo helped pay for—Seungcheol was finally on his way towards Jihyo’s apartment, to which she directed him to. The drive ended up becoming a bit of a stretch, and the four of them relaxed into their own things.

 

Hansol and Tzuyu were happily chatting in the back of the car, and from what Seungcheol could hear, Hansol was explaining the lore of Pokemon to Tzuyu who looked to be listening attentively from Seungcheol’s quick glance. When he glanced over at Jihyo, she was totally relaxed if her unwound shoulders and closed eyes were anything to go by; her head was also tilted slightly towards the window and a small, pleasant smile was on her face. Seungcheol took a subtle deep breath as he turned his attention toward the road again.

 

He usually didn’t allow himself to get lost in fantasies, not after his first fantasy ended quite tragically, and especially not with people he just met, but it was hard not to think about it. At this moment (and he thought about before, too, at the florist shop), they felt like a family, and that thought squeezed at Seungcheol’s heart. Seungcheol swallowed dryly and took another subtle, deep breath as he shook the little fantasy away. He already assumed he was a bit overbearing with all of the insisting about helping Jihyo out, he didn’t want to be creepy too—that is, if he already  _ wasn’t _ seen a creepy.

 

“Thinking hard? Or hardly thinking?” Jihyo spoke up softly. Before Seungcheol answered, Jihyo directed him on where to turn next.

 

“Is it possible to do both?” Seungcheol chuckled, smoothly turning another corner.

 

Jihyo hummed. “I think so...I feel like I tend to do both a lot,” Jihyo chuckled, light and quiet.

 

“Then I guess I was doing both. Probably more of thinking too hard, though,” Seungcheol pouted with a slight shake of his head.

 

“I think we’re really similar then...” Jihyo trailed off, resting her head against the window, eyes lazily scanning the familiar landscape of the city streets.

 

“Yeah...maybe,” Seungcheol muttered quietly with a nod. With that final quip, he was able to relax a bit and focus on the drive once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm slowly (like, very slowly lmao) but surely planning this story out. i'm only up to chapter 7 though (did i say it was slow? because whew, it is!), don't know what i'm planning to go up to. there's no goal really lol.


	6. when it rains, it pours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long, i was really unmotivated to write :/ 
> 
> however, i do plan to push through and start on the next chapter because i'm honestly excited for it lol (and maybe the one after, depending on how tomorrow goes lol)

Seungcheol pulled up to Jihyo’s apartment building smoothly, setting the car in park. “Well...this is it,” he said, watching Jihyo gather her things for a few seconds, possibly a bit too fond and a bit too disheartened to see her go. He turned around after a few seconds, rolling the window down to check if it was still drizzling a bit—and it was, so he turned around to give Jihyo the towel, even if it was just a bit of rain.

 

“You don’t want to come in? It’s not good for you to be that damp for so long, you’ll get sick…” Jihyo offered, eyes bigger than ever and shining with concern and something else Seungcheol knows all too well, but won’t let himself get into it. And there’s a refusal on his tongue, but two tiny voices interrupted him.

 

“Daaaaad,” Hansol had dragged out his whine, something he only did when he was particularly upset.

 

“Mommy,” Tzuyu’s whine was short and sweet, but it sounded so heartbreaking and it tugged at even Seungcheol’s heartstrings.

 

“We’re hungry!” The two whined in unison. Seungcheol and Jihyo turned to look at each other; Jihyo with a soft smile on her face and Seungcheol with a look that said his resolve was breaking faster than he’d like to admit.

 

“I wanna play more. Hansollie and Wo-bu-fey have to meet Minjoongie, Mommy,” Tzuyu kicked her little legs in her seat, not obnoxiously so, but the two could tell she was getting unusually restless. Jihyo spared another glance at Seungcheol before finally getting out of the car to get Tzuyu.

 

“Alright, kiddo, guess we’re having a playdate today,” Seungcheol relented, shutting the car off and exiting to the sound of Hansol and Tzuyu celebrating. Seungcheol removed Hansol from the car and then locked it, and he followed Jihyo—well, more like Tzuyu, since the children were happily skipping ahead of them—up to the apartment. When they get inside, the kids barely get their shoes off properly before running inside to play. Jihyo sighed, but it was lighthearted, and she straightened up the kids’ shoes before neatly lining up her own on the shoe rack. Seungcheol did the same, and cautiously followed her further into the apartment, sitting down on the plush sofa as Jihyo told him told wait there for a moment.

 

The apartment building wasn’t in the best condition, and the apartment itself was small, but Jihyo made it look like a magazine-worthy home nonetheless. The place was decorated with all kinds of plants, and the furniture had what looked like hand-knitted blankets on them as well. The television was a decently sized flat screen fixed onto the wall, with a small cabinet underneath it filled with a few movies, a dvd player, and little lego figurines (Seungcheol had a lot of questions about these, but he’s not sure if he was allowed to ask them).

 

“Sorry for the wait,” Jihyo’s voice was a lot closer than Seungcheol anticipated; he jumped and possibly let out a little yelp, clutching his chest. Jihyo only laughed at his reaction, and the way she sounded absolutely like a young twenty-three year old rather than the middle-aged mother she tried to be on the daily—Seungcheol only made the comparison because he _knows_ what it’s like—and that made him feel a bit more breathless than the unintentional scare she gave him. “here’s a towel and some clothes to change into. They might be a little small, but I hope they’re not too uncomfortable...”

 

Seungcheol took the towel and the clothes and made his way to the bathroom after following the very simply directions. He had intended to shower quickly, but as he stepped under the water, he ended up enjoying the warmth of the water on his body that he hadn’t even realized was littered with goosebumps from being so cold. After a short while of standing under the warmth for a little longer, Seungcheol washed his hair as well (revelling in the smell of Vanilla) and then exited the shower. He dried off and dressed quickly, the clothes fitting a but snugly—mostly the pants, since the shirt was a bit oversized anyways—but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Seungcheol finally shuffled out of the bathroom, thoughts still occupied by the clothes he was now wearing.

 

“Hey, sorry about taking so long, warm showers are real hard to part from.” Seungcheol chuckled and handed over his damp clothes to Jihyo. “These clothes though…they’re a bit fitting, but not uncomfortably so. Lucky that you had them on ha—oh. _Oh_...wait—” There was an apology on Seungcheol’s lips but Jihyo had waved him off as usual with her classic chuckle.

 

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Jihyo tossed Seungcheol’s clothes in the wash before getting to work making lunch for the children and themselves. “I just—I just wanted to keep something from him, you know...aside from Tzuyu, that is.” Seungcheol allowed himself to chuckle a bit at Jihyo’s sly smirk, and he settled himself at their small kitchen table.

 

“The Legos aren’t his?” Seungcheol questioned, motioning over to the little figurines under the television.

 

Jihyo shook her head. “Oh no, those are Jeong’s. She is obsessed with Legos and when Mina won’t let her keep any more in the house, she brings them over to everyone else’s.” Jihyo rolled her eyes. “Old clothes are the only things I have left from Mark, and there’s not even a lot. Most of the time, I just keep them put away, but sometimes I wear them. Just like I used to.”

 

Seungcheol nodded, understanding the sentiment. “You know, when we met, you said that he got you pregnant and then left you in Taiwan. Did he….was there not more to it than that? Like, not to sound childish or anything, but did he get involved in anything, you know, _illegal_?” Seungcheol leaned across the table and whispered, making Jihyo laugh out loud.

 

“Well, I’m not sure about him doing anything illegal, but I doubt it? He was honestly the most harmless guy. I know he got me pregnant very young, but that was a mutual mistake—he thought pulling out was a good counter-contraceptive measure and I thought having sex meant everything, so it didn’t matter in the end. It did matter, by the way. Wasn’t sure if you’d pick up on that by the way I ran away from home to a country that both he and I knew next to nothing of.”

 

“Went right over my head,” Seungcheol motioned his hand going over his drying hair. Jihyo rolled her eyes again with the softest smile to lessen the bite.

 

“Anyways, there’s not much to the story. We stayed at a motel at first, and along the way he got a job and I studied everything I could about Taiwan so I could help out too. He didn’t leave immediately, he was at least there for the first year, but after that he just left one day. Nothing but money to fly back, you know the story.”

 

Seungcheol felt it before, but as Jihyo hummed as she continued making lunch, he couldn’t help but wonder just _how_ was she so...not upset about the whole situation. “I think you’re amazing, really.” Seungcheol started. His shoulders sagged and he ran a hand through his hair. Jihyo glanced over at him, concerned, and he began to elaborate. “It’s just that...you don’t seem to beat up about it anymore. I mean, when my partner left me, I didn’t know what to do, and I still feel the pain like it was just yesterday. That whole experience...it really affected me in all the ways I still can’t believe it does. Honestly, and I’m sorry for assuming things about you, but I just assumed that it would hurt more, you know? He was the biological father to your baby, and he just—he just _left_. And yet, you recount it like a fond memory…”

 

Jihyo’s hands didn’t stop moving immediately; they slowed to a halt, and her entire demeanor dropped even slower. Her head hung for a moment before she took a deep breath and turned towards Seungcheol with a smile. “No, no, you’re right...it did hurt. It hurt like a _bitch_ , but I learned to forget. I _had_ to forget that it hurt, because I couldn't afford to. I had a baby with me in a country that I didn’t understand while, admittedly, still being a baby myself...I just—” And with this, Jihyo started crying, and Seungcheol had never moved faster in his life as he went over to pull her into a hug.

 

Jihyo drew closer to Seungcheol, and for a moment, his mind was reeling. “The clothes still smell just like him…” Jihyo muttered to herself, but the kitchen was so quiet and they were so close that Seungcheol heard it anyways, and he didn’t even blame her. Seungcheol carressed Jihyo’s head and rubbed at her back, apologizing profusely for bringing everything up.

 

“I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have pried…” Seungcheol pulled back a bit, instinctually cupping Jihyo’s face and wiping away her tears with his thumbs.

 

“Don’t apologize, I needed this anyways.” Jihyo sniffled a bit and busied herself with worrying over dampening Seungcheol’s shirt with her tears before she finally mustered up the courage to continue. “It’s really hard trying to talk about your past relationship...with people who expected it to fail anyways. I’ve tried, but...I just can’t when it feels like everyone is judging me, even though I know they’re not. But—” Jihyo cut herself off with a bite to her lower lip, worrying it until it nearly started bleeding.

 

Seungcheol moved his hands from Jihyo’s face to her shoulders, gently squeezing them. Jihyo looked up at him and he smiled at her the same way he smiled at Hansol when he watched the younger play by himself and he caught his son talking about him like he was a superhero. “But…?” Seungcheol coaxed softly, raising his brows a bit.

 

“But...I’m glad we met, and that I have you now. I feel bad that you had to go through such a shitty situation too, but it sure does make venting a lot easier. So, thank you, for existing. You and Hansol.” Jihyo’s smile was a bit strained around the edges, but Seungcheol didn’t mind, she didn’t need to be okay right now, he understood. Seungcheol smiled back and offered to take over lunch duty so she could have a moment to herself, but Jihyo declined the offer, figuring getting back to what was most important would be better than getting drowned in her own thoughts. Seungcheol had nodded along, but still insisted to help out, and for once, Jihyo accepted and they continued making lunch for the little ones and for themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!
> 
> (lol sorry for not giving mark a reason for leaving, but honestly, it happens like that sometimes #menaintshit #unlessurchoiseungcheol)


	7. sunshine always follows a shower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> every series needs a slight filler/crack chapter lol

Neither Jihyo nor Seungcheol expect for the door to ring, and even less so for it to burst open and for four mothers with their three daughters (in total) to pour in casually. Just as Tzuyu and Hansol did when they arrived, Dahyun and Chaeyoung barely get their shoes off before they’re speeding to the other children's’ side; the two girls greet Tzuyu as normal, but Dahyun in particular seemed to have completely skipped over Hansol’s presence at the apartment.

 

“Hansollie has intrapilated the base!” Dahyun pointed, moving closer to Hansol to poke at his nose.

 

Jihyo giggled, still stuffing her face with food. “You mean ‘infiltrated’, Dahyunnie?”

 

I don’t know!” Dahyun turned toward Jihyo and shrugged wildly with a huge smile on her face. Seungcheol prided himself in getting stronger, though, because he didn’t turn into a pile of goo at the sight. However, Dahyun quickly followed up with giggles and excited jumps up and down which succeeded in melting Seungcheol’s heart.

 

“So, you’re Choi Seungcheol, huh?” The bunny-toothed, Black-haired woman from before (who looked much more put-together today) sized Seungcheol up. He didn’t really know how she did it, but she turned her bright and youthful face into a weapon of mass destruction, ready to be used at any moment. Seungcheol was terrified to say the least.

 

“Don’t mind this softie, she does this with any of us,” Another woman easily moved the now offended, and less terrifying, woman aside. “That’s Nayeon, and I’m Sana. We’re Dahyun’s mothers. Nice to finally meet you!” Sana was as bright as Nayeon looked, and he could see where Dahyun got her personality from.

 

“Nice to finally meet you two as well,” Seungcheol shook Sana’s hand (cautiously) and gave an awkward smile.

 

“And we’re the better parents! I’m Yoo Jeongyeon, and this is my wife, Mina. This is our oldest daughter, Momo—she’s twelve—and you already know our baby beast, Chaeng,” Jeongyeon introduced their little family quickly, mainly to try to sneak some of Jihyo’s lunch, to which she only succeeding after taking a risk and tossing a piece over to her other hand.

 

“Introduce us any faster, Jeong...Anyways, nice to meet you,” Mina griped, but she turned towards Seungcheol politely and bowed. Mina seemed expensive, but Seungcheol couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

 

Momo gave a polite bow. “Hi…” she said, shyly, before going to play with the other children. Seungcheol expected the decision to have been more like an ultimatum, but she slipped right into the children’s play easily.

 

“Momo’s a bit of an idiot, honestly,” Jeongyeon nudged at Seungcheol.

 

“ _Jeongyeon,”_ Mina scolded, sighing and rubbing her forehead.

 

Nayeon rolled her eyes and scoffed at the two. “Do you ever stop? How are you two even still married?”

 

“Excuse you, she’s the love of my life!” Jeongyeon and Mina pulled into each other, clearly offended. Seungcheol couldn’t help but laugh at the display, sending a glance over to Jihyo who gave him a look.

 

“I introduce to you, my friends, _unfortunately_ …” She grumbled as Jeongyeon stole some more of her food.

 

“ _Best_ friends, and most definitely _fortunately_.” Nayeon piped up, shoving at Jihyo’s arm slightly with a pout. “Anyways, more importantly…” Nayeon turned towards Seungcheol sharply, features weaponized once again. Seungcheol gulped.

 

“Uh oh, I don’t have a good feeling about this...”

 

“You’re a smart man, Choi Seungcheol, if that is even your real identity.” Nayeon squinted her eyes at Seungcheol and sized him up again. If there was anything worse than getting picked apart by middle aged mothers and young women looking to date, it was getting picked apart by young women who weren’t into men (as far as Seungcheol knew, anyways; there was always time for character building).

 

“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve been Choi Seungcheol my whole life…?”

 

“You don’t sound too sure about that, but I’ll let it slide. What I really wanna know is your backstory. Is it tragic? Is it amicable?” Nayeon leaned her elbows onto the foldable table in the middle of the living room. Seungcheol glanced around and Jihyo was casually watching television, Jeongyeon had begun inspecting the Lego figurines while also expertly placing new ones, while Sana and Mina were watching over the kids and making small-talk in Japanese. In other words, Seungcheol was alone.

 

“It’s... _something_ ,” He answered shakily.

 

“I want answers, Choi!” Nayeon moved to slam her hand down on the table, but was stopped by a glare from Jihyo that had motioned her head over to the kids. Nayeon pouted again and settled for dramatically tapping her hand onto the table instead. “Hope you felt the slam in your heart, buddy.”

 

“I did, it was very powerful,” Seungcheol nodded.

 

“You bet your sweet a— _butt_ it was, now I’ll ask again. Backstory: tragic or amicable?”

 

Seungcheol sighed. “Tragic,” he relented.

 

Nayeon raised a brow. “Is that where Hansollie came into the picture? Did his mother die, or did she abandon you?” Seungcheol’s breath hitched at this one, and Nayeon latched onto the tiny show of weakness. However, instead of hardening up like he expected her too, she softened instead. Seungcheol took a glance towards Jihyo when he caught Nayeon looking her way, but she was already refocused on the television once again. “Sorry, let me rephrase that—”

 

“No, no, it’s fine. There was no mother in the first place, I adopted Hansol.”

 

“Alone? That young? You had to have had a partner at least. No one does stupid shi— _stuff_ like adopting a child all on their own that young. Not saying that adopting Hansol was stupid, he seems lovely, just the idea of taking care of a child at the ripe age of twenty is what’s a little, you know,”

 

“Well, that’s a bit…” Seungcheol ran a hand through his hair and rubbed at the back of his neck. He started looking towards Jihyo, but she held up a hand towards him.

 

“You’re truly all on your own now.” Jihyo smirked. “Payback for making me cry earlier.” Seungcheol had never felt so betrayed in his life. He turned back towards Nayeon, and found the rest of the women crowding around now, too.

 

“Did I just hear my super duper best friend for life say that you made her cry?” Sana, who seemed the most harmless of the group, questioned as she were truly a mafia boss (although, her phrasing was still very cute, but she had Nayeon beat by a longshot).

 

“I think you did, we’re too young to be going deaf otherwise,” Mina clipped, stone cold with a raised brow. Once again, Mina seemed expensive, and her judging stare towards him made Seungcheol feel short a few (hundred) dollars.

 

“Seemed like Nabongs had the right idea, let’s grill this guy for all he’s worth,” Jeongyeon smirked, and that’s all the women needed to hear before the relentlessly assaulted Seungcheol with more and more questions. Seungcheol had never struggled so hard in his life, not even when he came back to Jihoon with a baby, a broken heart, and enough money for a week of McDonald’s _at the very least_.

 

When it was finally an acceptable time to leave, Seungcheol sprung at the opportunity. Seungcheol made his way over to the children who were playing with their respective dolls. Dahyun and Chaeyoung were having a roaring contest with their Charizard and Tiger plushies respectively. Tzuyu and Hansol watched on quietly, both a bit confused at the two. Momo, on the other hand,  had left the children to go snack in the kitchen as mess around on her DS. “Alright, Sol, I think it’s time to go. C’mon,”

 

“No!” The children yelled in sync, and Dahyun and Chaeyoung began attacked Seungcheol with their toys. Seungcheol played along, grunting in faux pain while falling to the floor.

 

“Kill everyone who defies you!” Chaeyoung shouted, raising her plush in the air. Seungcheol, despite playing dead, could practically _hear_ Mina’s pointed look towards Jeongyeon.

 

“Alright, we really have to go, sweetie. You’ll see everyone again soon, don’t worry.” Seungcheol got up and scooped up a pouting Hansol in his arms. Seungcheol and Hansol waved goodbye to the group of girls and then the group of women before putting their shoes on at the door.

 

Suddenly, though, Jihyo gasped. “Your clothes! I totally forgot about them!” She jolted up and headed towards the laundry area from which a groan was heard soon after. “Yeah, they were still in the wash. I’ll, uh, make sure to bring them to you Monday?”

 

“No problem, I’ll return these to you on Monday, too.” Seungcheol chuckled and stood, waving goodbye one last time (and shaking off a bribe from Dahyun and Chaeyoung to take them with him so they could still play), and then he and Hansol were off back home.

 

On the way back, Seungcheol let out a deep sigh after Hansol had fallen asleep. He didn’t think he would gain such a deep understanding of Jihyo’s woes right after hearing them; no offense to her friends, of course, they were quite lovely when they weren’t interrogating him, but when they were it was _awful_. They wouldn’t let anything go, and Seungcheol couldn’t really blame Jihyo for confiding in him despite their relationship still being somewhat new. Even when the women were being understanding, their facial expression still held a lot of things unsaid, so Seungcheol didn’t want to imagine what their expressions would be like if Jihyo had truly tried to explain everything to them. They cared about her, definitely, but something told him they were the “tough love” kind of friends—well, maybe except Mina.

 

Either way, Seungcheol was glad Jihyo’s friends were somewhat intense, because it had given the two of them a chance to grow closer today. As Seungcheol pulled into his own apartment building’s parking lot and worked quickly to get him and Hansol inside so he could start their nightly routine and get the tired boy back to bed, Seungcheol thought about how he should try to open up a bit more himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!


	8. there's now a you and me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long! i've been unmotivated & my semester is ending (also i'm graduating community college next month!!! not excited for what comes after tho lmao)

“Hey, Sunmi noona,” Seungcheol glanced behind him to make sure the kids were still playing happily—though, he truly expected nothing less from Hansol and Tzuyu—before making his way over to Sunmi who had long since forgone pretending to do any kind of work and was now playing games on her laptop. Sunmi grunted in response, sparing the quickest of glances at Seungcheol to signify him to continue. “okay—well, do you think it’d be weird if I offered to just pick Tzuyu up for Jihyo? I mean, it must be troublesome having to hurry over here every day, you know.”

 

Sunmi quirked a brow and paused her game. “I don’t think it’d be weird? You two are friends now, right?”

 

“Y-yeah, you’re right,”

 

Sunmi, about to return to her game stopped, and then she turned to look at Seungcheol with a smirk. “Unless…” She trailed off, ready to attack, but Jihyo came hurrying into the room.

 

“How late am I this time?” Jihyo questioned through slightly heavy breaths. If there was any benefit to this current arrangement, it would be the fact that she was getting in some good cardio, Seungcheol thought.

 

“About the usual, really,” Sunmi answered while checking her watch, a sympathetic smile on her face. Jihyo ran a hand through her hair and groaned.

 

“I thought I was getting better...” She mumbled to herself before going over to Sunmi’s desk and taking a seat in the too-small “time-out” chair. Sunmi rummaged around in her desk, pulling out a lollipop and holding it towards Jihyo to take. Jihyo made a face at first, rejecting the treat, but she changed her mind as Sunmi began taking it away. Seungcheol snorted at the sight, but he quickly pouted when he wasn’t offered a candy either. Sunmi sighed and rolled her eyes, pulling out another sucker.

 

“You know, getting a candy isn’t your main concern here, Cheol,” Sunmi scolded, hitting the lollipop against Seungcheol’s head lightly before handing it to him. Jihyo chuckled as Seungcheol sputtered and whined.

 

“And what is my main concern?” He questioned while struggling to unwrap the lollipop. When he didn’t receive an answer, he looked up and saw Sunmi deadpanning at him with a quirked brow.

 

“Really, Choi Seungcheol?” Sunmi gestured towards the kids, particularly Tzuyu, and Seungcheol’s eyes widened and he clapped his hands together, startling the children.

 

“Oh, yeah,” Seungcheol replied after apologizing to Hansol and Tzuyu, who went back to playing after scolding him.

 

“Are you two best friends now? What’s with the secrets?” Jihyo pouted as she looked between the two.

 

“Ah, no, it’s just tha—”

 

Sunmi scoffed. “Wow, rude.” Seungcheol exhaled and flopped forwards, resting his face into his lap. Sunmi laughed loudly at the display, startling the children once more. Jihyo placated the children with soft chuckles lacing her words, and after inquiring about the candy, they eventually moved closer to their parents with their toys and other things.

 

“So?” Jihyo nudged Seungcheol as Sunmi handed the children much smaller pieces of candy. Seungcheol rose from his position and moved closer to Jihyo.

 

“I was just thinking about our situation—well, your situation that I’m also willingly apart of—and I was thinking that it might be easier for me to just pick Tzuyu up along with Hansol and then pick you up from work, you know?” Seungcheol explained, his words hurrying as he saw the refusal crossing over Jihyo’s face

 

“Seungcheol, I can’t, you’re already doing more than enough for us—”

 

“C’mon, Hyo, it’s basically the same thing we’re already doing,” Seungcheol attempted to coerce Jihyo, catching her off guard with his sudden and unconscious use of a nickname.

 

“He’s right, though. Besides, compared to Cheol, you’re doing a lot better,” Sunmi chimed back in after the children were satisfied with their candy.

 

“Uh?” Jihyo turned towards Sunmi with a face twisted in confusion.

 

“A few years back, Cheol hardly ever  _ saw _ Hansol, let alone pick him up. He was a single dad who had to work his way up from the very bottom. A good friend of his practically  _ raised _ Hansol while Cheol worked.”

 

“What—how do you even know all of that?” Seungcheol asked incredulously.

 

Sunmi shrugged. “Alcohol is real powerful sometimes. That’s why you shouldn’t go drinking with me, kiddo, I’m old enough to know my limits.” Sunmi cackled, but this time she was mindful of the children that weren’t paying attention and made sure to do so quietly. Seungcheol sighed and shook his head, but he turned towards Jihyo and admitted to the new information with a raise of his brows and his own little shrug.

 

“Anyways, you two can talk about it on your way home. You stay here late enough as it is, no time to have a semi-life changing discussion.” Sunmi got up and hurried around her desk to tug the two up by their arms. Seungcheol and Jihyo gasped and checked the time, realizing that it was getting late and the ride to Jihyo’s place wasn’t a quick one. The young parents gathered up their children and their children’s things before heading out with a thankful and sorry goodbye to Sunmi who waved them off with a bright smile regardless.

 

Seungcheol and Jihyo didn’t get a chance to resume the conversation until they were in the car and on their way towards Jihyo and Tzuyu’s home. The children finally getting a chance to tell their parents about their day, and other miscellaneous things. Eventually, Hansol and Tzuyu settled back into their own conversation and Seungcheol and Jihyo finally had the time to talk.

 

It started with a sigh from Jihyo, and while Seungcheol had gotten somewhat good at reading the younger woman, he couldn’t tell if that was a rejection sigh or acceptance sigh yet. “Thanks for your offer... _ Cheol _ . I’m really sorry about all of this, you know, but  _ God _ I’m so, so grateful.” Jihyo chuckled weakly and turned towards Seungcheol; he glanced at her a few times, trying to keep his eyes on the road. Her smile was warm and kind, as always, but she was tired and it was obvious. Before he could comment on it, Jihyo turned away, leaning her head on the window and closed her eyes; Seungcheol took the time to steal several more glances at her before turning his attention back towards the road.

 

They rode in a pleasant silence all the way to Jihyo’s house, the soft chatter of the kids keeping Seungcheol entertained as Jihyo seemed to have drifted off to sleep. However, she managed to get shaken awake by a few bumps in the road and sleepily directed Seungcheol into the parking garage for the apartment complex. “If you’re going to be picking up Tzuyu and then myself, then you’re going to need my schedule, I’ll draw it up for you really quick.” Seungcheol offered to carry the children up if Jihyo got their bags, to which Jihyo agreed because she was still a bit groggy and didn’t feel like refusing at the moment.

 

“Woah, Dad! You’re so strong!” Hansol giggled, wiggling in Seungcheol’s arms. Tzuyu nodded along, wiggling as well. Seungcheol grinned and he began to play around with the kids as they headed up to Jihyo’s apartment. Jihyo, who was leading the way, began to walk alongside the rest of them to keep an eye on their playing, not afraid to smack Seungcheol with a bookbag if he got a bit too daring (not just with Tzuyu, but in general).

 

“We’re finally here,” Jihyo sighed. She slipped her shoes off and kicked them to the side, placing the children’s things on the sofa before hurrying off to her room to get started on her schedule. “make yourself comfortable!” She called out from the door frame before disappearing back inside of her room.

 

“Will do~” Seungcheol called back, helping the children take of their shoes before removing his own and lining them all up neatly (along with Jihyo’s). The children hurriedly went off to play, and Seungcheol flopped onto the sofa to finally relax for the first time that day. He laid for a moment, then he rose again, searching for the remote to the television and turning it on. He channel surfed for a little while before settling on a music show—the singer was  _ amazing _ and the rapper she had to accompany her seemed something like a legend—and it kept him entertained long enough for him to forget exactly where he was and doze off a bit.

 

“Hey, Cheol,” Jihyo came into room, holding her cell phone against her shoulder. “sorry, but this might take a little, or a lot honestly, longer than I intended, so I hope you won’t mind staying for dinner?” Jihyo explained as she leaned against the back of the couch, poking Seungcheol’s face. A wide smile grew across her face as she watched Seungcheol pouted and try to wiggle away from the poking while simultaneously trying not to fall off the sofa.

 

Seungcheol groaned. “Did you hear anything I said?” Jihyo rolled her eyes. Seungcheol groaned again and opened an eye to signal that he was awake and listening. “If you’d like, you can order take out while I finish this up. My purse is on the kitchen table for money.” Jihyo patted Seungcheol’s head, chuckling as he groaned about being older and needing respect before heading back to her room. Eventually, Seungcheol got up and called the kids in to ask what they wanted to eat, receiving various answers in return.

 

“Pizza!” Hansol jumped up and down as he looked up at his father.

 

“Chinese! I want Chinese!” Tzuyu whined and pouted, hugging her doll closer to her.

 

Seungcheol looked between the two kids and sighed, unable to choose one or the other. “How about we get both? Don’t tell your Mommy I’m paying for both, though, Tzuyu.” Seungcheol whispered, leaning closer to the little girl and bringing a finger to his lips. Tzuyu smiled brightly before doing the same, her big eyes looking up at Seungcheol innocently. Seungcheol smiled and lightly pinched the children’s cheeks before telling them they can go play again before he worked on ordering their dinner.

 

“Im free!” Jihyo emerged from her bedroom with her schedule in hand. Seungcheol turned around quickly while taking the Chinese take-out from the delivery man, cheering for her freedom. Seungcheol thanked the man (as well as the kids who were excited for dinner) and closed the door behind him. “What’d you get?”

 

“I just want you to know that I’m a weak human being,” Seungcheol started as he sat the Chinese food down on the small, foldable table in the living room. Before he could finish what he wanted to say, the doorbell rang again and Jihyo gave Seungcheol a questioning look. Hansol and Tzuyu cheered once more, but this time for Pizza, and Seungcheol made his way to the door sheepishly.

 

“Oh my god…” Jihyo sighed and walked around the couch to start setting up the Chinese take out and make room for pizza also (apparently).

 

Seungcheol thanked the delivery woman and, after giving a generous tip, closed the door behind him and returned to the living room. “Like I said, I’m a weak human being. Now you know you can’t trust me to make decisions with the kids around.” Seungcheol chuckled and set the pizza box down on the space Jihyo cleared. Jihyo only grunted, getting up to get drinks. Seungcheol followed her with his eyes and pouted.

 

“You’re not mad, right?” He asked when she returned with juice, water, and cups. Jihyo didn’t respond, resolutely ignoring him as she poured drinks for the kids and for herself, setting the drinks aside for Seungcheol to choose for himself. “You know, I paid for everything...Don’t be mad, please?” It’s been a while, but Seungcheol pulled out his award-winning smile that stole hearts guaranteed and he made his eyes look exceptionally big and dazzling.

 

“ _ Choi Seungcheol! _ ” Jihyo gasped and swatted at Seungcheol’s shoulder.

 

“Is that why you said not to tell Mommy?” Tzuyu paused before stuffing a dumpling into her mouth. Seungcheol looked at the little girl, fake hurt, and nodded furiously. Jihyo huffed and swatted at Seungcheol again, lighter this time, and the children giggled as Seungcheol recoiled as if he were greatly hurt.

 

“Let’s hurry and eat before your money goes to waste,” Jihyo pulled Seungcheol up, the two of them saying a quick thanks for the meal before digging in.

 

Halfway through dinner, Tzuyu exclaims about wanting to show Hansol her favorite movie. Jihyo instructed the little girl how to work the DVD player and how to put the movie in. Tzuyu struggled with popping the DVD out of the case, bringing it over to Seungcheol who popped it out with ease. Tzuyu thanked him before going back over to the DVD player and putting the movie in—upside down at first, which Jihyo hurriedly corrected her—and then the movie was finally playing. Over the course of the evening, one movie turned into watching the whole series and eventually Jihyo and Seungcheol had to escape by assuming clean-up duty and moving to the kitchen to talk.

 

“So, I didn’t get to ask before, but what was the deal about the whole friend thing?” Jihyo questioned after they had finished cleaning up the last of the mess and putting everything back in its place. Seungcheol settled against the counter, taking a moment to remember the conversation from earlier that afternoon.

 

“Oh yeah, well, my friend Jihoon is the one I stayed with after coming back to Korea. He’s actually more than just a friend, he’s my best friend, known him for as long as I can remember. He worked from home—still does actually, I don’t think he goes out unless it’s for food, but that’s besides the point—and had extra room for us. I worked hard on getting a job, and worked hard to keep that job, which meant I couldn’t always be there for Sol. Jihoon, though, took a liking to Hansol luckily and gladly babysitted for me.” Seungcheol explained simply, recalling the past with a slight smile that seemed a bit tight around the edges.

 

“Jihoon sounds like a godsend,” Jihyo joked a bit, but it was just as sad as Seungcheol’s smile.

 

“He really is, kinda wish we actually tried the whole dating thing out...but I guess everything works out in the end, even if some things go wrong along the way,”

 

“So, is this  Jihoon your only friend, or do I finally one-up you on something?” Jihyo grinned and took a sip from her cup.

 

“Jokes on you, I have, like, one more friend than you do,” Seungcheol smirked.

 

“Damn—does Sunmi unnie count?” Jihyo countered.

 

“If she counts for you then she counts for me too,” Seungcheol chuckled as Jihyo sucked her teeth and muttered another curse under her breath.

 

“Anyways, Mr. Popularity, tell me about your friends then,”

 

“Well, most of my friends are from work, and by most I mean all of them.” Seungcheol admitted with a feeling of a retort coming.

 

“Hah! Lame! I declare myself the more popular one!” Jihyo laughed and danced around slightly. Seungcheol pursed his lips and nodded, trying to hold in his laughter for once.

 

“ _ Anyways _ , Ms. Popularity,” Seungcheol reached over and lightly shoved at Jihyo to stop her from gloating. “my friend from the company was Junhui. As you can probably tell, he’s a transfer from China. Although he’s good at what he does, whether he’s allowed to be an actual adult that functions in society is debatable. Then there’s Soonyoung and Wonwoo who were a package deal; Junhui introduced them to me when we went out for drinks one time. On the outside looking in, they’re literal opposites, but when you get to know them it’s like they share one mind. No surprise when they started dating a year or so ago.”

 

“Sounds like the perfect sitcom, I’m enjoying this,” Jihyo quipped, genuinely amused.

 

“Yeah, well, to add fuel to the fire, we recently got a transfer from America. He goes by Joshua, but he’s officially registered as Jisoo, which is funny because a lot of guys from other departments try to swing by for a look at the “hot American transfer” since the only Jisoo’s we have in the office are female.” At this, Jihyo almost spat her drink out laughing. She crumbled to the floor in a fit of laughter and Seungcheol couldn’t help but join her. Their conversation continued that way—them on the floor, laughing at all of Seungcheol’s amusing office stories with Jihyo griping here and there about the lack of amusement that happens at her jobs.

The two were having a great time going back and forth about their lives until they had finally had to get up to check on the kids as they noticed that the menu for the movie had played for  _ another _ time. When they made their way into the living room, they found that the kids had fallen asleep, so the two young parents scooped their children up into their arms. Seungcheol gathered Hansol’s things, grabbed the schedule that Jihyo drew up for him, rejected taking some leftovers back with him, and made putting on his and Hansol’s shoes the slowest ordeal he possibly could. However, one could only stall for so long when putting on shoes.

 

Seungcheol sighed and groaned as he stood up, hoisting Hansol up again. “Well,” Seungcheol drug out, turning around a bit. Jihyo was leaning against Tzuyu, swaying from side to side with a sweet smile on her face.

 

“Well,” Jihyo’s voice was a bit tired, but it was as melodic as ever.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow at your—” Seungcheol shuffled a bit, bringing the paper up to his face. “piano lessons, then?”

 

“Yep, see you tomorrow. Today was fun as always.” The two shared one last chuckle before Seungcheol was finally forced to head out. Seungcheol made his way down to his car, maybe a bit too surprised at how dark it had gotten. Seungcheol settled Hansol into his car seat and placed his things next to him, handing the little boy’s plushie to him knowing that Hansol’s little arms would wrap around it instinctively and snuggle into it (which made Seungcheol almost cry, which also, in turn, made him wonder just how tired he was because he wasn’t  _ that _ weak).

 

“Time to get you home buddy.” Seungcheol muttered and stretched after he got into the driver’s seat. He started up the car and headed out back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm excited for the next chapters, but i'm not sure they'll be written so soon since i have exams and stuff
> 
> anyways, i hope you enjoyed this chapter! i was a bit 'eh' about it because the only important part was the convo about cheol's friends, but i ended up liking the lowkey domesticity that these two are starting to fall into~ hehe


	9. but it never just pours for seungcheol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter and the next chapter will be pretty short since they're more like "build up" chapters. i considered combining them into one, but i decided not too because i still haven't continued planning the rest of this fic and i need something to give me time lmao

Seungcheol was currently headed to his worst nightmare—working at the office on a weekend.

 

He dropped Hansol off at Jeongyeon and Mina’s house (which was large and packed with all sorts of games; it was Mina’s collection and Seungcheol was more than impressed, and quite possibly a lot more reluctant to go to work) for they had been teasing for a month and a half now. Before he left, the mother’s had wished him good luck, although they made it a point to sound as ingenuine as possible. Seungcheol had pouted all the way to the office because the children looked to be having so much fun and so did the mothers—particularly Jihyo, despite a few of her gripes about her friends, she never failed to smile the brightest when they were around.

 

The pouting followed Seungcheol into the office, and he sighed. Even with all of their teasing, Seungcheol wished he could have been hanging out with Jihyo and her friends; anything was better than working, especially on a  _ weekend _ . Nonetheless, as Seungcheol made his way to the elevator, he caught a sight of Joshua and his mood brightened considerably. He ran up to Joshua just as the younger was stepping into the elevator, beginning to say something about how much today was going to suck, but the sight of the other person in the elevator made his words catch in his throat.

 

It was Jeonghan.

 

The man was as beautiful as ever, even with his short, light brown hair that framed his face just as perfectly as his longer hair had. And then, with a singular movement, Seungcheol’s eyes finally roamed over the tiny human in Jeonghan’s arms. He had a  _ child _ . Jeonghan had a  _ child _ , and he looked no younger than Hansol was.

 

“Cheol? You getting in or what?” Joshua questioned with a chuckle, but Seungcheol only coughed and sputtered as he looked between the two. Jeonghan’s face left no indication that he knew Seungcheol, and instead, preoccupied himself with the child in his arms who happily played along with Jeonghan.

 

“N-no, I—Just—Yeah, bye,” Seungcheol shook his head, exhaling a unsteady breath before running off. He didn’t care if he looked a bit insane as he frantically searched for  _ anywhere _ to just take a moment to himself, he had every right to be. Seungcheol hurried past the stairwell, but doubled back and shut himself inside. He doubted anyone would be taking the stairs, but he  travelled up a bit before sat himself down. Seungcheol sat in the stairwell for a long time, definitely well past the start of his shift, but he couldn’t bring himself to head up to his floor knowing very well that Jeonghan would be there—with a child,  _ his _ child—very expertly pretending that he didn’t have a clue of who Seungcheol was, or even  _ what _ Seungcheol was to him at one (long) point in their lives.

 

After another long moment, Seungcheol took in a slow breath, ran a hand through his hair, and wiped at his eyes. He picked himself back up, straightened out his clothes at the very least, and headed up to his floor; he tried not to think too much about his situation, and solely on the fact that Junhui would surely catch a glimpse of Seungcheol’s now unstyled hair and invite himself into his office to fix it up for him. When Seungcheol finally arrived to his floor, he ignored everyone on the way to his own personal office, especially Joshua who sent several questioning looks his way.

 

“You’re quite the late one today, Choi.” Seungcheol’s boss caught him before he went into his office. Seungcheol sighed and nodded, ready to be scolded, but his boss simply patted him on the shoulder a few times. “Maybe you should start looking into getting a wife to hold down the house for you. Raising a kid by yourself must be hard.”

 

“Ah, uh, y-yes sir, will—will do…” Seungcheol stuttered, confused, but not ungrateful for the excuse. His boss left him with a few more pats and Seungcheol was making his way into his office to finally get some work done.

 

Seungcheol worked continuously all morning, never taking his eyes off of his computer screen or the paperwork he had to go through. He didn’t want to chance making eye contact with anyone since his office was encased by only glass. Somewhere along the way, Junhui did indeed invite himself in and fix Seungcheol’s hair for him. The younger talked to him too, despite Seungcheol’s less than enthusiastic responses and more than occasional silences. Before he left, though, Seungcheol stopped Junhui to thank him and give him the best smile he could muster at the moment. Junhui nodded and waved his office comb (vastly different from his comb at home, which he always made it a point to specify) before returning back to his own desk.

 

Seungcheol sighed, turning back to his work, suddenly very unmotivated to do anything. He checked the time and noticed that it was almost time for lunch break, though he considered skipping it entirely to keep working. And Seungcheol would have, too, if his phone hadn’t vibrated at that very moment. Seungcheol checked his phone and opened the message he received from none other than Jihyo.

 

**Jihyo sent a picture**

**Jihyo:** Lunch time~

**Jihyo:** Have you eaten yet?

 

Seungcheol groaned, knowing very well that he could lie and say that he has, or even say that he was going to, but not actually do it. However, when he looked at the picture again, the food that they were eating looked so appetizing, and his stomach began to twist a bit.

 

**Seungcheol:** Looks good, wish I was there :(

**Seungcheol:** I was about to go eat, though

 

**Jihyo:** We’re playing well w/o you~

**Jihyo:** Eat well, work hard, and come home! lol :D

 

At this, Seungcheol had to put his phone down and rest his face in his hands. For a moment, he could forget his earlier despair, his mind occupied with many different thoughts. A lot of them were dangerous, so he pushed them away, simply focusing on the very safe thought of  _ ‘I want to go home.’ _

 

**Seungcheol:** Will do! ^^

 

Seungcheol responded finally, leaning back in his chair contemplating the best way to escape down to the cafeteria without being caught. However, Seungcheol must have done something terrible lately, because Joshua knocked on his office door before coming in with Jeonghan in tow.

 

“Hey, Cheol, you seem to be taking a break finally. Wanna go get lunch with us?” Joshua walked over to Seungcheol, casually sitting on the bit of desk to the side of Seungcheol, as if the slightly older male hadn’t acted weird earlier. Seungcheol thought about his life choices, and what he possibly could have done for everything to come down to this. He didn’t get to think long, though, because his stomach growled louder than it should have and Joshua was dragging him up and out of his office.

 

“Guess I am getting lunch with you then.” He mumbled and Joshua nudged him with a laugh, chatting with him all the way down to the office cafeteria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed this first little bit of drama (i honestly just decided to bring chan into this chapter like yesterday)


	10. bury it all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm rly rusty at writing drama lol (google search: how to be rusty when u were never good in the first place tho?)
> 
> also, sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes! i legit started writing this at like midnight and it's currently almost 3am lmao

“Is that really all you’re going to eat, dude?” Joshua raised a brow at Seungcheol’s lunch tray that was filled with the bare minimum.

 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine,” Seungcheol answered a bit breathlessly after taking a glance at Jeonghan who was a bit distracted by Seungcheol’s lack of lunch as well. He gulped when the other’s face twitched in concern slightly.

 

“You sure?” Joshua questioned again, looking between his own plate and Seungcheol’s, ready to share some of his meal if necessary.

 

“Yeah, Shua, it’s all good.” Seungcheol softened for the second time that day, even letting out a soft chuckle at the concern. “I’m sure you don’t want to spend all of your lunch break worrying about me, right?” Seungcheol questioned back, glancing at Jeonghan once again.

 

“Oh, yeah,” Joshua brightened, turning towards Jeonghan and placing an arm around his shoulder. The child in Jeonghan arm stopped eating and grabbed at Joshua’s hand happily, exclaiming ‘Shua, Shua,” over and over again. “this is Yoon Jeonghan and his son, Yoon Chan. Recently, Han’s been on break from work, so in his boredom, he whined and begged me to let him check out the workplace. I thought today was the perfect opportunity since it’s a Saturday.”

 

Jeonghan took in a breath, nearly unnoticeable before turning towards Seungcheol and smiling. “Nice to meet you,”

 

“Likewise. I’m...Choi Seungcheol. I have a son of my own, too, you know? Choi Hansol, my pride and joy.” Seungcheol tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice, and it worked; however, the bitterness was replaced with a hint of melancholy. “So...are you two...you know?” Seungcheol bit his tongue as he grinned teasingly. Joshua choked on his food and Jeonghan looked away.

 

“Sort...of? We’re kind of moving in that direction...I guess…” Joshua explained awkwardly after clearing his throat the best that he could.

 

“You should go get you something to drink, Jisoo,” Jeonghan patted Joshua’s back lightly. Seungcheol watched the two as they shared a small moment; it was a bit awkward, just like any relationship in the early stages (and maybe, Jeonghan was feeling a bit guilty about their current situation...maybe), but it was tender and cute in a way. Jeonghan and Joshua spoke to each other softly, their conversation laced with playful teasing, and they worked around Chan’s interruptions with a natural ease.

 

“Two Pocaris, a juice, and a Cola for you, Cheol?” Joshua checked over the drinks, hand on Seungcheol’s shoulder to get the older’s attention.

 

“Yeah, Cola is fine, thanks for the treat,” Seungcheol chuckled weakly before Joshua headed off to the vending machine. Seungcheol sighed heavily before turning back to Jeonghan who was already staring at him—his eyes were sad and that sparked a lot of emotions inside of Seungcheol.

 

“Cheol—” Jeonghan started, cutting himself off because he was already getting choked up. “I’m so sorry.” Jeonghan breathed out, voice wavering very noticeably. Seungcheol didn’t say anything as Jeonghan just kept on apologizing, the other’s eyes filled with tears he didn’t dare shed.

 

“Jeonghan…” Seungcheol ran a hand down his face. He truly didn’t know what else to day, which was odd. He had so many questions, so many emotions, and yet none of them came to him. He stared at Jeonghan feeling everything and nothing.

 

“How’s...how’s Hansol? Is he okay? Is he at school? Is he doing well? Does he have friends? Does he—does he remember me?” Jeonghan asked in succession, his voice trailing off at the last question.

 

Seungcheol scoffed before he could stop himself. “He’s  _ fine _ .”

 

“Seungcheol, please—”

 

“Jeonghan, I can’t do this,” Seungcheol sighed and rose from his seat with his lunch tray.

 

“Wait—Cheol!” Jeonghan called out quietly, yet desperately, and Seungcheol hated himself for stopping and giving the other his attention once more. “Are you okay?” Seungcheol almost caved, almost broke down and gave his all to Jeonghan once again, but he managed to hold himself together. He didn’t respond to Jeonghan’s question, and turned to leave instead. He brushed passed Joshua who finally returned with the drinks, not sparing a glance nor an explanation to his leaving. Seungcheol disposed of his food before heading back up to his office, entering the floor in very much the same manner he did earlier that morning; he spared no glance to anyone, and shut himself back into his office. Seungcheol took in a shuddery breath—one that he refused to admit was an emotional one—before diving back into his work.

 

Seungcheol was undisturbed for a majority of his shift, and he was able to forget the reason for his unsettled nerves until soft knocks rapped at his door and Joshua’s head peeked in. “Seungcheol...can I—can  _ we _ come in?”

 

Seungcheol held back a sigh and looked up at Joshua. Seungcheol wondered if he looked a bit rough around the edges because Joshua deflated and entered his office regardless of an answer (or lack thereof). Joshua pulled one of the chairs in front of Seungcheol’s desk around so that he could sit at Seungcheol’s side. Jeonghan entered the office with more caution, but he eventually made his way over to Seungcheol’s desk, opting to not move the chair around the desk.

 

“Where’s Chan?” Seungcheol questioned lowly.

 

“Junhui offered to look after him, he said he had nothing to do after all,” Joshua answered for Jeonghan, and Jeonghan nodded along.

 

“I doubt he’s done any work today, I bet he has  _ a lot _ to do,” Seungcheol shook his head, peering over at Junhui’s desk, watching the younger play with the child. Seungcheol cursed himself as the image made him smile warmly—he was a very weak man.

 

“Anyways, Cheol, I just want to apologize—” Joshua squeezed Seungcheol’s arm tightly.

 

“Joshua, no, you don’t have to apologize…” Seungcheol placed his hand on Joshua’s, returning the soft squeeze. Then he looked towards Jeonghan who still refused to make eye contact. Now that he looked at him, it was obvious he had been crying, and just recently stopped. “and Jeonghan…”

 

Jeonghan looked up at Seungcheol. He bit lightly at his lower lip with eyes glistening, and  _ God _ Seungcheol’s heart seemed to squeeze more and more every time he looked at Jeonghan. “Seungcheol, I meant it when I said I was sorry. I don’t—I really don’t know what else to say.”

 

“I’d say “me either”, but I have a few things to say. I mean, it’s been a little over three years, and even at this very moment, I can’t help but feel so in love with you. But, just as much as I’m in love...I’m in so much pain, too. I mean, you left me because you said you couldn’t handle a child, yet you go and adopt another one right after,” Seungcheol laughed bitterly.

 

“And Hansol did ask about you, he asked about you a lot, Hannie. He wondered where his Daddy went for a long time, and that hurt even worse. Hansol had always been the kind of kid to keep things to himself, but one day he just broke. He cried and wondered why you didn’t come back; he was only about two years old, but he somehow managed to think it was all his fault...” Seungcheol choked up, looking away from Jeonghan for a moment. He tried to get himself back together, he couldn’t have a breakdown for all of the office to see.

 

“I’m glad you’re doing well, though. I really am, Jeonghan. I’m glad you have someone—and not just someone, you have Joshua; I wouldn’t trust anyone else to be with you other than him. I’m glad you could give raising a child another chance, too. You were so amazing with Hansol, and Chan seems to be doing really well, seems like a really smart kid. He has a really smart parent after all...well, parents now, I guess?” Joshua, teary-eyed, gave Seungcheol a thankful smile. Seungcheol smiled back, tired and vulnerable. Seungcheol moved his hand across his desk and held it out, catching Jeonghan’s attention. The two made eye-contact, and Jeonghan hesitated before taking Seungcheol’s hand in his own.

 

Seungcheol savored the feeling of Jeonghan’s hand in his own for the last time. It was soft, a little calloused, but not terribly so. Seungcheol reminisced about all the times he’s held Jeonghan’s hands, how many times he’s kissed them, how much he just loved to hold and kiss the other in general. They had been together for such a long time, and he liked Jeonghan for much longer, so sliding his hand from Jeonghan’s to finally let go of his after all this time wasn’t easy. He drug his fingers up Jeonghan’s hand slowly, linking their fingers before removing his hand completely. Afterwards, Seungcheol sat back in his chair with a sigh and looked at the two of them, then he peeked outside of his office to see if anyone was paying too much attention to their little exchange (as expected, Soonyoung, Wonwoo, and Junhui were definitely watching them all, concerned).

 

“Are you going to be okay, Cheol?” Joshua rose from his seat to hug Seungcheol against his side. Seungcheol leaned into him, too tired to be resentful at the moment, not like he had much bitterness towards Joshua anyways; Seungcheol looked up at Joshua and something about the younger eased his nerves.

 

“Maybe. I know someone—a good friend of mine, a great friend even—who has been through something similar, and  _ man _ let me tell you, she’s such a trooper, so maybe I will be okay.” Seungcheol recounted with another weak smile. The thought of Jihyo made him check the time, and while it was still early, Seungcheol didn’t think he could last the rest of the day. “I think I’m going to clock out early. Can you tell the boss that I had an emergency with my babysitter or something?” Seungcheol began packing up his things, and Joshua readily agreed, telling Seungcheol to get some rest before leaving his office with Jeonghan in tow. Seungcheol finished gathering his things together and left his office quickly, apologizing to his friends for today and promising them that he was fine before he left altogether.

  
  


Seungcheol was stepping into the elevator, finally letting his body deflate. He fell against the back of the elevator and exhaled deeply, allowing his eyes to water up once again as he thought about the feeling of Jeonghan’s soft hands leaving his for the last time.

 

“I caught you,” A light, breathless voice sounded from Seungcheol’s side. Seungcheol repressed the urge to groan and he opened his eyes to stare Jeonghan down.

 

“Jeonghan, why?”

 

“I just—I didn’t want to leave it at that, Cheol,” Jeonghan set Chan down, upsetting the boy greatly since he spent a considerable amount of time not in his father’s arms.

 

“I really don’t think there’s more to say—” Seungcheol tried to reason, preparing to step out of the elevator.

 

“You said what you had to, why can’t I?” Jeonghan argued, taking Chan’s hand in his and following Seungcheol out of the elevator. Seungcheol usually began stripping away his office worker persona after he got out of the building, but he was feeling extra stuffy in his suit, so he began untightening his tie as Jeonghan continued talking. “I have my side of the story too, you know?”

 

“Alright, then, what is it?” Seungcheol glanced at Jeonghan as he undid the few buttons at the top of his shirt. He glanced away before he caught sight of Jeonghan swallowing dryly and staring a bit too long at his exposed collarbones.

 

“I know we were doing so well, Cheollie, we were doing more than well. We had the cutest little family in  _ New York _ of all places, it was like a dream come true—”

 

“It was my dream come true, Hannie. The day we adopted Hansol, everything started coming together for me, you  _ knew _ that.” Seungcheol’s voice cracked a bit, but neither paid attention to it. Both of them were getting more emotional than they thought they should be getting. “So why? Why would you just up and  _ leave _ like that?”

 

Jeonghan hesitated, clutching Chan’s hand a little more, careful not to hurt the child. “I panicked, Seungcheol. When I left with you, my parents thought I was going off to study abroad. Every year, lying to them became harder, you know how much my family means to me. I missed some of my younger sister’s most important milestones in life, and just hearing her and my parents excuse everything because I was studying well and making them proud—I couldn’t do it. Not only was I lying to the people I cared about the most, it really made me think. I wasn’t studying, wasn’t even working, and yet I was taking care of a  _ child _ . I really just couldn’t take it anymore, Cheol. All of sudden, everything we were doing seemed so much bigger than it did before, and I had to escape.” Jeonghan did his best to explain without breaking down, but the longer he talked, the more difficult it became.

 

Through his sobs, Jeonghan talked about how much the guilt ate him up after he had left; he went home and confessed everything, and for a while, he didn’t have anywhere to go until he managed to meet up with some of their old friends from school. He recounted how he stayed with Hyunwoo and Minhyuk while he tried to get his life back together. He went to study for real—it was only an associate's degree, but it was something at the very least—and he mentioned how he worked part-time so he could live on his own. Jeonghan went on to talk about how living alone in an apartment brought back memories of Seungcheol and Hansol, and how the urge to have a family again sprung up in him. He talked about how he debated about it for a while, only to end up giving into his desires when his mother contacted him about finding a good girl to settle down with. Then, not too long after, when Jeonghan desperately needed a roommate, Joshua came in from America.

 

“It was supposed to be awkward, you know? I mean, I was expecting it to be, but Jisoo made everything so  _ easy _ .” Jeonghan recalled with a smile as he wiped his face. Chan, who Jeonghan picked up in the meantime, also tried to wipe at his father’s face and cheer him up. Jeonghan smiled at his son sweetly, assuring the child that his pain was all gone because of him, which made Chan brighten considerably. “He accepted everything, mentioning about how things like this were common in America, especially California. He really just made me feel so at peace.” That hurt Seungcheol a bit, and it showed in his furrowed brows, but luckily, Jeonghan was still catering to Chan as he continued explaining himself.

 

“Even though my life includes Jisoo and Chan right now, and even though I don’t want to give this peace up for the world, I love you too, Cheol. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving you. We were best friends before we were boyfriends, and being your boyfriend, and unofficial husband, were great times in my life. I always wished things could have went better—if I were a bit stronger, held on a bit longer—but I don’t doubt that where we are now will bring us happiness someday.” Chan placed his head on Jeonghan’s chest, tired, and Jeonghan cradled his son with all of the care in the world.

 

Seungcheol opened his mouth to say something, but a few beats went by before anything actually came out. “Yeah...just—yeah.” Seungcheol sighed at himself, running a hand through his hair. Jeonghan huffed out a bit of laughter before letting out a yawn, right after Chan’s. “Don’t fall asleep on the way home, Jeonghan. See you later…” Seungcheol raised his hand and let it hover over Jeonghan’s head, wondering if the action would be too intimate; however, Jeonghan brought Seungcheol’s hand down onto his head himself, a soft smile on his face.

 

“Once more for old time’s sake,” Jeonghan said simply, and Seungcheol smiled sadly as he stroked Jeonghan’s hair and trailed his hand down the other’s face. Usually, this action would always be followed up with a kiss  _ somewhere _ , but Seungcheol left it at stroking Jeonghan’s cheek once. The two said their goodbyes to each other once more before finally parting ways. Seungcheol slid into his car silently, and he just sat there. The threat of tears bubbled up inside him for a long time, but nothing actually came from the feeling, and Seungcheol couldn’t tell if he was glad or frustrated about the fact. He figured he should be glad, and he tried to emulate the emotion the best that he could the entire ride over to Jeongyeon and Mina’s house as he went to pick up Hansol, Jihyo, and Tzuyu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly, i originally planned for this to end at cheol leaving the cafeteria to work the rest of the day, but i decided to challenge myself to not be lazy and actually have jeongcheol talk abt their shit fhkjdljsk i hope i did well ;;;; like i said, i'm rusty (read: not good at all) at writing drama
> 
> another thing: it sucks having such a short timeline to work with since cheolhyo are still young themselves jdkls i really hecked myself over with that one, but i hopefully managed to make jeongcheol's relationship timeline make sense and not conflict with anything else?? i really read through other chapters to make sure i didn't contradict myself and i even made several timelines in my head, but if smth doesn't add up still, i apologize ;;;;
> 
> anyways, like always i hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	11. rain really does make you feel alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this instead of doing my final term paper fjkdlsjkl

Seungcheol’s days following that incident with Jeonghan have been off. And it wasn’t the kind of off where he was messing up his work, or being clumsier than usual—no, it was the kind of off that was emotional rather than physical. He didn’t take the opportunity to joke around as much, his smiles were dull, and his laughs were less than half-hearted at best. It had gotten to the point where even Hansol was beginning to notice his father’s unusual behavior, resulting in the young boy to become a bit distressed himself; Hansol had taken to clinging onto Seungcheol even more than usual and heartbreakingly questioning whether Seungcheol loved him. Seungcheol tried his best to rebuild his facade that had been quickly broken down, but it wasn’t easy; it felt like none of his pieces fit together like they used to anymore.

 

“Mr. Hansollie’s dad, you passed my Mommy,” Tzuyu informed Seungcheol softly from the back seat, and it took everything in Seungcheol to not slam down on the breaks. Seungcheol turned the block and made his way back towards Jihyo’s workplace. He slid up to the curb where Jihyo was still standing, a wide smile on her face as usual. Seungcheol rolled down his window and Jihyo’s laugh made him feel more at ease than he has for what feels like forever.

 

“Come here often?” He asked, a lopsided smile on his face. Jihyo raised a brow at him, not quite buying his line and she made her way to the other side of the car, getting in. “Not a fan of cheesy lines?” Seungcheol asked, watching Jihyo as she got situated in the passenger’s seat with practiced ease; putting her bags and papers in every nook and cranny with a lot less awkwardness than she had before (it took her a few trips to stop trying to hold all of her things in her hands).

 

“Don’t get me wrong, Cheol, I absolutely  _ love _ your cheesy lines—I’m practically swooning, but…” Jihyo trailed off, glancing away for a moment with a faltered smile. Seungcheol was about to question her to go further, but Jihyo turned back towards him with her usual brightness. “can we go to your place today? I mean, it’s Friday, and I’m sure the kids would love to play some more?” Jihyo turned back towards the kids and they cheered happily. Jihyo looked back towards Seungcheol and his face must have given him away before he even said anything because Jihyo cheered along with the kids and settled back into her seat. Seungcheol grinned and shook his head, amused, and turned back into to face in front of him and finally start on the way to his apartment.

 

Throughout the short drive, Seungcheol’s mind wandered once the children began singing along to the radio that Jihyo turned on (another thing she became comfortable with doing). He wondered what it was exactly that Jihyo was going to say earlier; he wondered if his “off” attitude was even noticeable to Jihyo? It wasn’t weird that Sunmi noona noticed how off he was the moment he had come to drop Hansol off the following school day, he expected that she would, but for some reason, Jihyo noticing how off he’s been came off as a bit of a surprise for him.

 

“Thinking hard or hardly thinking?” Jihyo asked Seungcheol in a lilt, and even though it was short, it was sweet and had Seungcheol craving more.

 

Seungcheol shook off his thoughts and chuckled. “Both, honestly, but more of me just thinking too hard...” Seungcheol replied. Jihyo hummed, and Seungcheol felt her eyes on him for a few moments before his shoulder became much warmer than it was before. He glanced to the side and Jihyo’s hand was on his shoulder and her smile was hard to read, but it wasn’t unkind. Seungcheol softened, and in a moment of daringness, he patted Jihyo’s hand and left it with a squeeze. Jihyo slipped her hand off of Seungcheol’s shoulder with her own squeeze and they rode the rest of the way to Seungcheol’s apartment comfortably.

 

“Well, we’re here,” Seungcheol pulled into his apartment complex’s parking garage smoothly, and turned the car off. The two parents got out of the car and without even saying a word, Jihyo grabbed the kids’ things while Seungcheol grabbed the kids. Tzuyu leaned into Seungcheol easily now, hiding into his shoulder as she plays with Hansol. Seungcheol chuckled at the children’s playing, and he almost passed by his apartment if it weren’t for Hansol calling it out.

 

“You’re really out of it, huh?” Jihyo laughed, but it wasn’t like her usual laughs. Seungcheol set the children down and fished his keys out of his pocket, unlocking the door and letting the children in first, then Jihyo, before heading inside himself.

 

“Yeah...I guess I am,” Seungcheol responded slightly late. “kids, take your shoes off properly, alright?” Jihyo sat the things in her hands down and attended to the kids while Seungcheol took their things and put them up properly. He sat Jihyo’s things down on the couch and he took Hansol and Tzuyu’s to Hansol’s room. As he was leaving Hansol’s room, the kids ran past him with excited giggles and babbles about Tzuyu meeting all of Hansol’s toys. Seungcheol smiled and headed back into the living room.

 

“Hey, Hyo, I’m gonna break down really quick, make yourself comfortable—well, even more comfortable, I guess?” Seungcheol snorted as Jihyo had already stretched herself out on Seungcheol’s couch and turned on the television.

 

“Okay~!” Jihyo called lazily from behind the couch, raising a hand and waving at Seungcheol. The man just sighed and laughed before heading back to his room, peeping in on Hansol and Tzuyu along the way to see if they were still playing nicely (they were, of course). Seungcheol took his time dressing out of his work clothes, trying to think about just how off he’s been lately without really thinking about why because he knew that the moment he thought about the  _ why _ , he’d get a lot worse than whatever was happening with him lately. Ultimately, Seungcheol decided that the slower he went about getting changed, the longer he had time to think, so he picked up the pace and got comfortable so he could head back into the living room with Jihyo.

 

“You’re not sleep, are you?” Seungcheol joked dryly as he entered the living room. Jihyo had probably long since moved from lying down on the couch to resting comfortably against the arm, legs tucked neatly under her.

 

“Any second longer and I would have been knocked out,” Jihyo’s joke was just as flat as Seungcheol’s.

 

“Snacks?” Seungcheol asked, hanging off the doorway of the kitchen.

 

“If it makes the conversation easier for you, then please,” Jihyo smiled sympathetically, and Seungcheol knew it was coming, but something unpleasant settled deep into his stomach anyways. He disappeared into the kitchen and gathered some random snacks he had: mostly chips of different varieties and a few beers. Seungcheol never keeps alcohol in the apartment unless he has guests over to consume it all the same day; he must have been  _ really _ going through it, he just now noticed. Seungcheol walked back to the living room with full arms and Jihyo helped him settled the treats onto the floor.

 

“You know, it’s weird to have a talk when actively we’re preparing for it…” Seungcheol chuckled weakly, immediately opening a beer and chugging it. Jihyo raised her brows, but it went unnoticed.

 

“Well, I’ll make it easy...maybe,” Jihyo grinned, opening her own beer and taking small sips. She was more interested in the chips anyways. “Let’s see...how was your day today?”

 

“I got asked if I was okay several times, my boss keeps trying to set me up with the single women in the office, and Joshua keeps apologizing to me which makes me feel worse,” Seungcheol grumbled and stuffed his face.

 

“Ah...how eventful,” Jihyo took a swig of her beer. “Let’s talk about your boss, yeah? Seems like a rant will do you some good! Why’s he so concerned with your love life?”

 

Seungcheol made a face and shrugged. “I have no idea, but it’s probably because he’s a traditional man. He has a good wife and good kids and he wants everyone in the office to live that way...I assume. I mean, I’m not opposed to dating again—especially after recently, I’d very much welcome it—but I’ve only dated one person in my life and I just knew that that one person was going to be my forever…I guess, in a way, he still is my forever. I can’t move on even after seeing him so happy with his own little family...” Seungcheol licked at his lips, played with his hands, messed with his hair—he did everything he could to distract himself from crying.

 

Jihyo moved over to Seungcheol and wrapped her arm around his. “So...you met your ex a few days ago?” And it was with this that Seungcheol finally broke down.

 

“He showed up at the office, with a  _ child _ , and then he acted like he didn’t know me. It wasn’t until Joshua invited me to lunch with them that we finally had a chance to talk. He only dropped the facade when Joshua left, and he tried to apologize and to ask about Hansol, and I just—I couldn’t do it.” Seungcheol rested his head in his free hand, Jihyo having took hold of his other one to comfort him. Seungcheol continued rambling on about how he had left Jeonghan and Joshua without eating, how he’d try to bury himself into his work until his shift was over, but the two had come to talk to him together. Seungcheol recalled the talk they had with even more choked words, because even if he said he’d let go, even if he could convince the two of them that he got the closure he needed, he couldn’t just  _ do _ that. 

 

“And then…” Seungcheol continued. “And then, as I was leaving early, Jeonghan had caught up with me. We talked some more, and it was the most painful talk I’ve ever experienced...Hearing him explain his side, about how much he tried to give up for me—for us, for our family, but just couldn’t. He told me that he’d always love me, but also that he was already starting to move on…”

 

Jihyo squeezed Seungcheol’s hand and then pulled away. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Her voice was soft and comforting, and she rose before disappearing down the hallway. Seungcheol took the short time to try and compose himself, but he failed miserably. Jihyo came back to Seungcheol sobbing softly and she wrapped her arms around him without hesitation, rubbing his back and getting him to calm down before she pulled away again and cleaned up their beer and chips. Finally, Jihyo returned to Seungcheol and held out her hands for him to take. Seungcheol was confused, but he slowly took hold of Jihyo’s hands and allowed her to pull him up (with a bit of helpful effort from his side as well). Jihyo led Seungcheol out of the apartment and down until they were standing outside, just shy of the rain.

 

“What are we doing? The kids—” Seungcheol nearly turned around to head back up, but Jihyo stopped him by running out into the rain. Seungcheol was  _ very _ confused at this point, and he looked at Jihyo as if she were crazy. Jihyo twirled around in the rain, arms out and head back, a wide smile on her face. Seungcheol tried calling for Jihyo to come back, but she refused, happily jumping in whatever puddles she could find, laughing happily and freely. Seungcheol began to worry when she started travelling further down the street, so he sighed and ran after her. Jihyo led Seungcheol through several puddles, splashing him enough times to the point where his mission had switched from getting the two of them back inside to splashing Jihyo back. Eventually, Seungcheol became the same carefree laughing mess that Jihyo was, and the two began to play in the rain together.

 

It was irresponsible, they knew that; they both left their five year old children in an apartment alone to play in the rain. It was irresponsible, but it felt  _ so good _ .

 

After tiring themselves out, Seungcheol and Jihyo moved to sit on the curb, and as they caught their breaths, they closed their eyes and allowed themselves to get lost in the feeling of the rain falling on their skin. Although it was an unspoken feeling that they shared, for the first time in a long time, the two of them felt their actual ages for once. They could see it in each other’s eyes when they had finally opened them and turned to look at each other. In this moment, they were simply a twenty-five year old and a twenty-three year; too young to be raising five year olds on their own, too young to be weighed down by the world yet, too young to be feeling so much hurt and so lost—and yet, here they were. The both of them, with abandoning exes and two children that they had to struggle to learn how to take care of while trying to take care of themselves.

 

It was all funny, really, and it showed as both began to laugh out loud: at themselves, at the situation, at the world in general. After a short moment, the two finally began to rise and head back inside. When they arrived back to Seungcheol’s apartment, the children were waiting in the living room with their stuffed animals in arm. Both Hansol and Tzuyu ran up to their parents and clung onto them despite how drenched they were, scolding them for going to play in the rain without them. Seungcheol and Jihyo nodded along to their children’s scoldings, shuffling into Seungcheol’s apartment awkwardly.

 

Seungcheol directed Jihyo towards the guest bathroom. “I’ll bring you and Tzuyu some clothes to change into, there are towels in the cabinet already.” Seungcheol said as he went into his room with Hansol clinging onto him despite trying to put his son down. Seungcheol tickled the child until he wanted to escape, smiling widely in victory and he dug through his drawers for old clothes for Jihyo to wear. He spotted the clothes that Jihyo gave him and considered giving them to her to wear, but then he imagined Jihyo wearing his clothes would absolutely be too large for her, so he pulled out some of his clothes and closed the drawer a little too eagerly.

 

Next he went into Hansol’s room to grab Hansol some new pajamas as well as some for Tzuyu. He picked out the pajamas that Hansol loved to wear recently—pokemon pajamas that matched his new favorite plushie, wobbuffet—and then he picked out Hansol’s other favorite pajama set for Tzuyu; the set was a special edition that were designed after the 2016 colors of the year—Rose Quartz and Serenity—and Hansol, for once in his short life,  _ demanded _ to have them because they were pretty.

 

“Alright, sorry for the wait,” Seungcheol took the clothes to Jihyo and Tzuyu who were patiently waiting in the bathroom; however, Seungcheol didn’t expect for Jihyo and Tzuyu to have already removed their clothes, but thankfully, they were wrapped up securely in towels. “ _ holy shi— _ Sorry, sorry, sorry!”

 

Jihyo snorted and took the clothes from Seungcheol. “Thanks, and calm down, we’re reasonable adults,” Seungcheol groaned and complained as Jihyo pushed him out of the bathroom, heading back to his room with Hansol’s pajamas to wash up with his son before they got sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really wanted to add a kiss scene, but i held myself back since it didn't really feel like the right time


	12. maybe we've been moving the entire time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the absence! i initially took a hiatus because i wanted to continue filling out my outline for the story, and then i started writing lots of other things, then i got a ko-fi request, and the rest was just laziness lol
> 
> but i'm back, kinda! sorry that i don't return with super long updates, my plan is to also write ch.12 but idk...i've been so into writing other things, bc i'm not good at slow burn & i just want cheolhyo together like NOW but whew...patience

After they had all washed up, Seungcheol and Jihyo started working on making dinner in a comfortable silence. Eventually, though, Seungcheol sighed and turned towards Jihyo.

 

“You know...I’m really sorry about that. I didn’t mean to just break down on you,” Seungcheol’s voice was soft and when Jihyo turned around to face him, too, she saw that he genuinely looked regretful. Jihyo placed a gentle hand on Seungcheol’s arm and gave it a squeeze. When Seungcheol looked down at Jihyo, it was like he was seeing her for the first time; her eyes were big and shining, her smile was small and soft, but she left him more than a little breathless this time. It didn’t help that she  _ did _ look great in his oversized clothes, if the unintentional off-the-shoulder look she was sporting was anything to go by.

 

“Don’t worry about it, Cheol.” Jihyo stepped closer to Seungcheol and she wrapped him up in a hug. She did her best to wrap her arms around Seungcheol’s neck, getting onto her tiptoes and all. Seungcheol’s chuckles turned into laughter and he raised Jihyo up as casually as he could so she could hug him comfortably. Jihyo groaned, though she was chuckling happily as well. “I know you probably like to think it, but you’re not Superman. Also, I did kind of break down on you to, so…”

 

“Okay, first of all—I’m totally a Thor kinda guy,  _ secondly _ ,” Seungcheol started, but Jihyo burst out into laughter at Seungcheol’s statement, and he quickly followed. He didn’t resume speaking until after they had both calmed down. “Secondly...thank you, for everything. You’ve helped me out a lot, too, you know? With the way you treat Hansol like he’s your own, giving me some time to myself for a little bit, how you always supported me and never pushed me to talk about things I couldn’t bring myself to talk about. Especially how you helped me realize that I’m also still young and I’m allowed to hurt, and feel lost. Just—there’s so much to be thankful for,”

 

“It’s what friends are for, especially friends that understand what you’re going through better than anyone else would.” Jihyo nudged at him, and the two of them continued talking—with Jihyo encouraging Seungcheol to open up more, and Seungcheol actually doing so—as they made dinner.

 

Once dinner was finished and everyone had their fill (of food  _ and _ fun), Seungcheol and Jihyo finished getting the children ready for bed.

 

“Daddy, can Tzuyu and I sleep together?” Hansol asked and when Seungcheol looked down at him, he and Tzuyu were looking back up at him with the biggest, silently pleading eyes possible.

 

“Of course, Sol, what’s a sleepover if you’re not sleeping with your friends?” Seungcheol bent down to the children’s eye level, smiling softly at them. Hansol and Tzuyu beamed at each other before jumping onto Seungcheol to hug him. Seungcheol lifted the children up as easily as ever and carried them both to Hansol’s room with Jihyo following him. The two parents tucked their children into Hansol’s bed, Seungcheol made sure to put up the rails to secure them in (Hansol had a bit of trouble adjusting to his Big Boy bed when Seungcheol had first got it for him, but he was doing better now).

 

Seungcheol pulled up one of Hansol’s tiny chairs for his desk and took out a book to read for the children; it was a new book about how things worked (for kids!) that Hansol wanted, and with everything that had been going on lately, Seungcheol never had the chance to read it to him. It was expected when Tzuyu slowly began nodding off while Hansol was enthralled with all of the new information he was learning, yet Hansol couldn’t keep his sleepiness to himself, and he ended up dozing off as well. Seungcheol and Jihyo kissed the two children goodnight and quietly left the room.

 

“Wait, mommy,” Tzuyu’s tiny voice called from the bed and the two parents turned around.

 

“Yes, sweetie?” Jihyo answered the little girl sweetly, going back over to the bed. Jihyo took her place in the chair that Seungcheol was just sitting in.

 

“You didn’t sing us a song yet,” Tzuyu slowly turned towards her mother, careful not to stir Hansol too much, since he was still drifting in between consciousness. Jihyo made a sound of realization and smiled, stroking her daughter’s hair as she began to sing softly.

 

Seungcheol relaxed against the door frame, and let himself get lost in Jihyo’s voice since it was the first time he was hearing it. For the first time since they met, Seungcheol didn’t stop himself from imagining more of them—he imagined the four of them as a little family, and he how this could be their everyday life; how, after they tucked in the children for the night, they would head off to bed together. He imagined himself kissing Jihyo goodnight, kissing her good morning, kissing her  _ always _ , like it was the most natural thing in the world. And it did seem natural, it seemed palpable, and that made Seungcheol have to take a breath.

 

“I think they’re finally sleep,” Jihyo whispered to him after she made her way back over to the door. She gave Seungcheol a smile and two thumbs-up and Seungcheol didn’t even think twice before returning the gesture. Seungcheol let Jihyo leave the room first before he closed the door slightly behind them; afterwards, the two of them stood in the hallway for a few moments, making last-minute conversations, trying to hold onto the night for a little bit longer. Eventually, though, Jihyo let a yawn slip so they figured they’d start heading to their rooms now, but Seungcheol sighed and pulled Jihyo back to cup her face and kiss her softly.

 

“Sorry.” He apologized breathlessly. “I mean, I’m not sorry, actually. It’s just—doing that has been on my mind for a while, but if it made you uncomfortable—”

 

“It’s okay, I’m not uncomfortable, just...shocked,” Jihyo replied before Seungcheol could panic and the older let out a long exhale.

 

“I don’t mean for anything to immediately come from this, since we both have a lot to work through, but maybe...maybe it can be a promise, for the future. Or maybe, something just for the night, I don’t know…” Seungcheol held his breath as Jihyo actively contemplated his words, probably her feelings, but then she smiled as she always did and leaned forwards into his chest. The two of them don’t say anything more, they just hug each other tightly, once again stalling in an attempt to make their time together for the night last longer (because they don’t know if they could handle sleeping together just yet; there were so many things they had figure out—about themselves, about each other—before that).

 

Seungcheol and Jihyo only parted from each other when two tiny, almost missable gasps came from behind them. They pulled apart and turned around to the sight of Hansol and Tzuyu scrambling back into Hansol’s room in a fit of giggles. Seungcheol and Jihyo chuckled awkwardly, somewhat embarrassed to have been caught by their children, and they shared a look before going back to put their children to sleep once again.

 

After another chapter of Hansol’s book and two songs later (Jihyo was accompanied by Seungcheol this time, who put his rusty vocals from his high school band experience to good use), Hansol and Tzuyu were finally, undoubtedly asleep. The parents leave quietly once more, half-closing the door behind them, and this time they head further down the hall before talking as to not wake the children again. The two of them said their goodnights to each other, Seungcheol pressing another soft kiss to Jihyo’s lips and then her forehead (both of them blushing like lovestruck teens dating for the first time), before they finally parted ways and went to bed themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!


	13. there's now an us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was fun to write! lots of fun interactions~ (at least in my opinion lol)

Seungcheol wakes up the next morning to a phone call.

 

He groaned as soon as he got off of the phone and buried his face into his pillow. He was called into work on the weekend— _ again _ . Seungcheol got ready reluctantly, groaning as he did so; however, whenever he left his room with starting breakfast on his mind, he was surprised by the smell of food already being made. When he walked into the kitchen, he was met with the sight of Jihyo with the children, the three of them making breakfast happily. Seungcheol’s mood brightened exceptionally as he watched Hansol and Tzuyu eagerly helping out with mixing pancake batter and adding fruit or chocolate chips (that Seungcheol didn’t even know he had) to it. It smelled heavenly, honestly, and Seungcheol wondered if waking up could always be this great.

 

Seungcheol sat at the dining table with the dopiest smile on his face, trying to be as quiet as possible as he continued to watch Jihyo interact with the children; it was the most endearing sight, and Seungcheol couldn’t just let the opportunity go by, so he took his phone out and began to record a video. Eventually, Seungcheol was spotted by Tzuyu, and it may have been his excessive giggling, but he didn’t mind.

 

Tzuyu gasped. “Mr. Cheollie is awake!” Tzuyu chuckled and pointed at Seungcheol, running up to him and scolding him for waking up early. Seungcheol simply nodded and allowed himself to be scolded, still reeling over the fact that Tzuyu called him “Mr. Cheollie” instead of “Mr. Hansollie’s dad” as she usually did. Seungcheol stopped the video, putting his phone down, and picked Tzuyu up to sit her in his lap.

 

“Sorry, sorry, but I have to go to work today,” Seungcheol explained, pulling up a game on his phone for Tzuyu to play because she had picked up his phone curiously.

 

“Gross,” Tzuyu looked up at Seungcheol with a straight-face. Seungcheol nodded, returning the face, and the two of them returned back to the game. As they played, Tzuyu told Seungcheol all about the breakfast making process, which Seungcheol listened to earnestly while helping Tzuyu cut the fruits and avoid the bombs.

 

Eventually, breakfast was finished and Seungcheol got up to help the children into their seats before going to help Jihyo with setting up the table and bringing the food to it. Once settled, the four of them ate breakfast happily: the children excited about their chocolate chip pancakes with whip cream while Seungcheol and Jihyo enjoyed mixed berry pancakes. Although the two little families enjoyed their breakfast, Seungcheol noticed that Hansol kept glancing between him and Jihyo.

 

“Hey, sweetie, if something wrong?” Seungcheol scooted closer to his son, stroking Hansol’s face softly.

 

Hansol shook his head, lips pursed, but then he took a pause. He glanced between Seungcheol and Jihyo once more before speaking. “Are you and Ms. Jihyo going to get married?” Hansol looked up to Seungcheol with big eyes, and this time, it was Seungcheol who spared glances between Jihyo and someone.

 

“W-Well…” Seungcheol started, unsure, but he was lucky when Jihyo swooped in confidently.

 

“Marriage might be a possibility someday, but right now, your daddy and I are taking it slow, Sollie. We both have to heal a bit first, but we’ve decided to do it together, for now,” Jihyo leaned towards Hansol and ruffled his hair, also stroking his face gentle on the other side. Jihyo looked at Seungcheol and he smiled at her warmly, reaching across the table and taking Jihyo’s hand reassuringly.

 

Breakfast continued on normally afterwards, with the exception of Hansol and Tzuyu buzzing excitedly about their parents’ new relationship. Seungcheol and Jihyo blushed deeply and ate awkwardly as their children discussed their relationship in terms that they could understand, which unfortunately happened to be in relation to the dramas they knew their parents watched.

 

After Seungcheol finished eating, he checked the time and excused himself, hurriedly putting his dishes away then passing out a round of kisses. He hesitated kissing Jihyo on her lips, still too embarrassed to show a display of affection in front of their children, so he settled for kissing her on her forehead. However, while he was finishing getting his things together at the door, Jihyo met up with him and pulled him down for a kiss. A bit more confident, the two of them kissed a few beats longer than they did the previous night, both of their hands itching to wrap around the other, but they restrained themselves. They broke apart after tiny giggles were heard behind them, but when they looked back, the children were nowhere to be seen; the two of them sighed in relief coupled with chuckles at their apprehension, before they said their goodbyes and Seungcheol finally headed off to work.

 

At work, Seungcheol happened to run into Joshua and Jeonghan again as he was catching the elevator.

 

“Here we are again. Where’s Chan?” Seungcheol wrapped his arms around the two of them with a huge grin.

 

“He’s with my sister,” Jeonghan answered, and both he and Joshua looked at Seungcheol curiously, but they didn’t get a chance to question him about his mood because someone else stepped into the elevator with them.

 

“Oh, Jihoonie?” Seungcheol said.

 

“Cheol? Wow, it’s been so long since you’ve bothered to talk to me, I didn’t think you knew who I was anymore,” Jihoon smirked teasingly, but his cockiness fell when Seungcheol slipped off of Joshua and Jeonghan’s shoulders and wrapped him up in a big, too-tight hug. The sentiment was an exaggeration since Jihoon was Seungcheol’s favorite person to vent to, but after the last meeting with Jeonghan, Seungcheol hadn’t talked to  _ anyone _ about anything until Jihyo’s much needed therapy session.

 

“Hoonie, oh my god, it’s been forever!” Jeonghan exclaimed, going in for a hug as well after Seungcheol finally let go. Jihoon hugged Jeonghan a lot more willingly, but a bit awkwardly considering the last time he heard about Jeonghan, he had left Seungcheol with a child and a severely broken heart.

 

“This is starting to feel less like a reunion and more like a fever dream…” Jihoon groaned, running a hand through his black hair. “Is this going to be awkward? Because I  _ will _ leave this elevator on the next floor and take the stairs,”

 

Jeonghan looked towards Seungcheol with curious eyes once more, but Seungcheol waved him off. “Everything’s fine, Jihoon.” Seungcheol chuckled, pulling Joshua who awkwardly edged towards the back of the elevator up to the group. “ _ Anyways _ , this is Joshua Hong, my coworker and Jeonghan’s new boyfriend. And Joshua, this is Lee Jihoon, my best friend since forever and Jeonghan and I’s favorite third wheel during high school,”

 

“Gee thanks,” Jihoon grumbled with a roll of his eyes, but he held his hand out for Joshua to shake regardless. “Nice to meet you, Joshua. You must be a strong man for dating the mess that is Yoon Jeonghan,”

 

“Hey!” Jeonghan shoved at Jihoon, affronted.

 

“He’s not wrong.” Seungcheol and Joshua said in perfect unison, looking at Jeonghan with the same expression as well. “Did I mention he has another kid?” Seungcheol turned back towards Jihoon.

 

“No shit.” Jihoon quirked a brow in disbelief, running his hand through his hair again. “Well...at least you both look better,”

 

“Speaking about looking better…” Seungcheol knew where this was going, and he avoided Jeonghan’s gaze. “Cheol, what’s got you so bright and happy today? I nearly questioned if our last meeting was a really bad dream for a second,”

 

Seungcheol tried to hide his grin, but it was as futile as it ever was. “Nothing much, just taking the first steps to moving forward,” Jeonghan and Joshua’s curious looks from before returned with a hint of confusion. Even Jihoon, who was more kept in the loop, wasn’t sure of what could have possibly had Seungcheol this elated; he knew of Jihyo vaguely, but Seungcheol never really vented about his particular feelings for Jihyo, so all Jihoon knew was that he and Jihyo were simply friends—he would never come to the conclusion that Jihyo would be the reason for Seungcheol’s mood.

 

Jeonghan and Joshua continued to try to bug details out of Seungcheol all morning; Jeonghan who truly didn’t have any reason to be at the office sat in with Seungcheol ever half-hour or so and tried to get  _ something _ to report back to Joshua, and normally Seungcheol would have caved, but he got much amusement from finally being able to hide something from Yoon Jeonghan that he refused to give even the slightest hint. The bugging continued all the way to lunch even, and Jeonghan and Joshua managed to get the equally nosy Junhui and Soonyoung in on it.

 

However, while they group was out at lunch, Seungcheol got a text from Jihyo with a picture attached just as he did last time. The picture was of Jihyo and the kids cuddled together eating lunch as well, and Seungcheol’s grin ended up urging the other’s to get his phone by all means possible (at this point, even Jihoon and Wonwoo were curious). In the end, the group of six ended up succeeding in grabbing Seungcheol’s phone, and they all made various sounds of surprise and awe, much alike the kind you would hear from students in school after they’ve heard about something scandalous—Seungcheol thought that if all of the weren’t dressed up in suits with perfectly gelled hair, even  _ he _ might’ve gotten confused about their actual ages.

 

“Choi Seungcheol, you bastard!” Soonyoung cheered, holding his glass of cola up. The rest of the group did the same, and Seungcheol was glad that they had gotten a private room.

 

“Congratulations, Choi, you’ve picked yourself up well from last time’s shit show,” Wonwoo grinned, avoiding several people’s whacks at his arms.

 

“She’s so pretty, and so is her daughter! Hansollie’s just as cute as when we last saw him, too. Ugh, Cheol, when can I visit again? Also, can I have this picture?” Junhui held the phone to his chest, pouting when Seungcheol refused to send him the picture, but his mood brightened when he said that Junhui could come over at literally any time.

 

“So this is Jihyo? I didn’t know you guys were like that...I know I said I didn’t care about your vents, but now I feel betrayed…” Jihoon sipped at his cola with a frown.

 

“Come to think of it, I haven’t met your son yet, Cheol. We should set up a playdate one day,” Joshua smiled warmly at the picture then at Seungcheol.

 

“Wow,” Jeonghan spoke up quietly, eyeing the picture on Seungcheol’s phone with an unreadable expression. He didn’t seem displeased, but it wasn’t the brightest expression either. Seungcheol figured he must have been taking in the sight of Hansol all grown up—Hansol was, in a way, still his son, after all. Jeonghan swallowed, took a deep breath, then finally tore his eyes off of the picture. He turned towards Seungcheol and smiled; it was small, probably a bit regretful, but it was warm nonetheless. “I can see why you’re so happy now,”

 

“Yeah,” Seungcheol returned the smile, taking his phone back and looking at the picture once again. “but we’re not officially dating yet, just—healing, together.” He clarified with a light blush; he should have known that this would be even more embarrassing than talking about his and Jihyo’s relationship in front of the kids.

 

“You’re not officially dating, and yet,” Jihoon started, leaning over into Seungcheol’s side and bringing up the picture again. “she’s wearing  _ your _ clothes, and her little girl—Tzu...yu, was it?—is wearing  _ Hansol’s _ pajamas...in  _ your _ apartment,” Jihoon (un)helpfully pointed out before he moved back into his own space and continued sipping at his cola and stuffing his face as the group went back into a flurry. Seungcheol was terrorized by his friends some more, but even then, he gathered the group together to take a picture to send back to Jihyo.

 

After all of the eating, catching up, and getting to know each other, the group of seven headed back to work.

 

On the way back, Jeonghan and Joshua (who carpooled with Seungcheol; Jihoon had rode with them at first as well, but he and Junhui entered into a deep conversation upon leaving the restaurant so he rode back with the other group) took the time to genuinely congratulate Seungcheol on taking a step forward in his life.

 

Seungcheol glanced at the two of them—Joshua in the passenger seat and Jeonghan sitting in the back—and thanked them. “If I’m being honest, this is the first time that I’ve truly felt like myself in a very long time,”

 

“Good, because you deserve that, Cheol. You’ve always been like Superman, not just to me, but to all of our friends since forever...it’s good that you have someone who can help you save yourself,” Jeonghan leaned forward in his seat a bit and placed a gentle hand on Seungcheol’s shoulder.

 

“Jihyo said the same thing, about me being superman,” Seungcheol chuckled.

 

“And you told her you were more of a Thor kind of guy, didn’t you?” Joshua turned towards Seungcheol with a smirk.

 

“I sure did,” Seungcheol replied readily, and the three of them laughed heartily together, plunging into even sillier conversations (ones mostly about their school years together, the ones that didn’t get told at the restaurant).

 

Not much later that day, when they were all getting ready to go home (much earlier than expected, all thanks to Jihoon), Seungcheol stopped Jeonghan and Joshua as they were heading to their car.

 

“Hey, Han,” Seungcheol dug his phone out of his back pocket. “since things are getting better now for the both of us, let’s finally exchange numbers.” Jeonghan was caught off guard by the offer, but he happily accepted it, and pulled out his phone as well. The two of them exchanged numbers, and then Seungcheol sent them off with a cheerful goodbye and a promise about setting up that playdate before he headed off to his own car and made his way back home with an unbreakable smile on his face as he thought about what awaited him (or, more like,  _ who _ awaited him).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, hope you enjoyed!


	14. helpful intervention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i thought this was going to be a short transitional chapter, but it turned out to be the length of a normal chapter jfklds

Jihyo and Tzuyu end up staying the entire weekend with Seungcheol and Hansol.

 

It happens like this: after Seungcheol came home from work that day, the children rushed him at the door, pulling him excitedly to the couch; Jihyo scolded them gently about how Seungcheol needed to get his shoes off first. After removing his shoes—with the children untying them for him—he was pulled to the couch as originally planned and given a short presentation.

 

“Reasons why Tzuyu and her mommy should stay the weekend,” Hansol presented at the start, he and Tzuyu clapping until Jihyo and Seungcheol clapped as well. Seungcheol was confused and when he looked towards Jihyo, she refused to look at him back—her face was flushed and she was alternating between covering it and running her hands through her hair.

 

“First reason: it would be super fun!” Tzuyu flipped the paper on Hansol’s drawing tablet that was hardly ever touched before today. There was a drawing of the four of them with smiley faces and little suns surrounding them.

 

“Second reason: it would be really helpful if daddy had to go back to work,” Hansol said as he flipped the page of his tablet. Now there was a drawing of Seungcheol at what he assumed was his job with a line drawn between him and the other three who were at the apartment. Seungcheol was honestly impressed by the details of this picture considering he was frowning at work.

 

“Last reason: mommy and daddy—I mean, Mr. Cheollie—can watch dramas together!” Tzuyu giggled at her mistake (Seungcheol wanted to cry because it was cute and he was honored; Jihyo also wanted to cry, but for completely different reasons) and flipped the page again. There was a picture of Seungcheol and Jihyo on the couch ( _ cuddling _ ) while watching TV with snacks in front of them while Hansol and Tzuyu were off to the side playing happily amongst themselves. The scene was heartwarming, and even though Seungcheol had no problem with Jihyo and Tzuyu staying over anyways, he sure was convinced.

 

Hansol and Tzuyu concluded their presentation with setting the tablet aside before taking each other’s hands and bowing together. Seungcheol smiled at the two of them widely, impressed by their presentation, and greatly moved. Jihyo, on the other hands, was still quite embarrassed.

 

“We’ll go talk about it now, okay?” Seungcheol got up from the couch and went over to ruffle the kids’ hair, turning around to Jihyo after he righted his position and nodded towards the kitchen. Jihyo got up almost reluctantly and followed Seungcheol into the kitchen. “So...that was something?” Seungcheol grinned and finally undid his business attire as they got into the kitchen.

 

“I had no idea that that’s what they were doing. They shut me out sometime after lunch and were super secretive about it. I couldn’t even be nosy because they’re good kids, I had nothing to suspect of them,” Jihyo sighed with a chuckle of disbelief.

 

Seungcheol chuckled as well at the image. He could very well see Tzuyu ushering her mother out of Hansol’s room as the two children plotted out their grand scheme of getting Seungcheol to agree to letting Jihyo and Tzuyu stay for the weekend. “Well, they made very interesting points. I mean, I was already down, but I’m like  _ super _ down now,”

 

A look crossed Jihyo’s face. “...Is it really okay to stay for the weekend?” Another look crossed Jihyo’s face and it was the most tempting look ever. She looked up at Seungcheol with eyes that seemed bigger than normal and a slight, unsure pout.

 

“Hyo,” Seungcheol stepped forward and grabbed Jihyo’s face, leaning down to press a kiss to Jihyo’s forehead. “of course it’s okay. It’s more than okay.” Seungcheol smiled down at Jihyo with his warmest, fondest smile that made Jihyo purse her lips and pull away. She was blushing and trying to hide a smile in the worst way possible, and Seungcheol thinks that there’s several more points that could be added to Hansol and Tzuyu’s presentation.

 

Seungcheol heads out of the kitchen after Jihyo and the two of them start gathering up the kids so that they can head back to Jihyo’s apartment and get the girls clothes and other necessities for the weekend.

 

The following Monday, they arrive at the Kindergarten together to drop the kids off, surprising the teachers there that had the tendency to hit on Seungcheol; however, no one could have been more surprised to see the two of them together than Sunmi. There was a lot of stuttering on her end and questionable looks, but the only thing she said before they left was “Oh, we’re definitely talking later.”

 

And talk they did, because when Seungcheol came to pick the kids up, Sunmi pulled him aside as if she had been waiting for him. “What the fu—heck. What the heck, Choi Seungcheol.” Sunmi gritted out, not in anger, but in aggressive confusion. Either way, Seungcheol still got whacked at.

 

“Well, noona, as you can see, there has been some changes in Jihyo and I’s relationship.” Seungcheol started, ignoring the roll of Sunmi’s eyes that clearly gave him a sharp, ‘No shit, Sherlock’. “We’re not  _ together _ together, but we’re...together?”

 

“I don’t get it—I mean, I do get it, but I seriously don’t get it…” Sunmi’s brows furrowed together and she began massaging her temples. “How did you two even…?”

 

“You know how I’ve been off lately?” Seungcheol asked, and Sunmi responded with quick nods. “Well, that was because my ex showed back up in my life at my job not too long ago, with another child and dating my coworker.”

 

“What the fu—udge...popsicle…” Sunmi said a bit too loudly, causing the remaining kids to look over at the two adults. Her recovery incited the sweets-filled desires of the children, though, and it took a few tries to get their attention off of them.

 

“Anyways, I tried to pretend like nothing happened just like he was, but then he started the taboo conversation at lunch after he sent my coworker—his boyfriend—away, and it all went downhill from there. He and my coworker attempted to talk things out with my later on, and I genuinely tried to talk through things with them too, to finally get closure, but my heart wasn’t in it and I guess my ex could tell,”

 

“Oh, Cheollie…” Sunmi reached over her desk and took Seungcheol’s hands in hers, rubbing it comfortingly.

 

“After our talk, they urged me to go home, and I did, but then my ex stopped me in the parking garage and explained himself. You know, why he left, why he adopted another kid. I think that last talk was supposed to be our actual closure, and it felt like it, truly, but…” Seungcheol trailed off, taking a deep breath. He was moving on, he definitely was, but it was all still a little fresh for him—it still hurt.

 

“You couldn’t stop thinking about it, right?” Sunmi asked; she was good with filling in the blanks when it came to Seungcheol, and whether it was because he was an open book or he really just spilled out his guts that time they went drinking, he didn’t really know. “The time between when he left you and Hansol and when you two saw each other again wasn’t a long time, and you couldn’t stop thinking about it. Whether it was actually  _ you _ that did something, whether it was  _ you _ that wasn’t good enough...right?”

 

“Noona…” Seungcheol’s voice shook a bit. “He said it wasn’t me, that it was him and his family that he had to think about, but...what if? And if it was me that was the problem, then...what about with Jihyo, you know? What if I’m not good enough for her either?” Seungcheol swallowed down his tears, he couldn’t cry right now despite desperately wanting to.

 

“The reason she stayed with me over the weekend is because Friday, she finally asked me about what was going on, and I just broke down. Then she took me outside when it was raining and we kinda just lost it. We let it all out, together. It was nice—being with her is nice, it’s great, so great that I’ve promised her a someday. But what if I can’t make it to someday? I feel like I’m stuck between moving on and hanging on, noona, and I—”

 

“Cheol.” Sunmi finally intervened. She gave Seungcheol a reassuring squeeze to his hand before continuing. “First of all, take a deep breath, kiddo.” Seungcheol nodded and the two of them took a long inhale together and released it slowly. “Good, now secondly: you’re not the only one whose confused about all of this, I can assure you,”

 

“How—” Seungcheol wanted to question, but Sunmi stopped him with a pointer finger held up sternly.

 

“Jihyo’s first and last relationship—or, as we all like to call it, bad decision—was with Mark, the man that knocked her up and ditched her in a foreign country. She may seem fine, but I’m pretty sure she’s worrying about all kinds of things on her end too. Young women who are single mothers that are working multiple, small niche jobs aren’t exactly hot on the market, you know.” Sunmi explained, patting Seungcheol hand one last time before she released it and checked her phone for the time. She stood up and called Hansol and Tzuyu over before pushing Seungcheol out of the room telling him that he’ll be late if he doesn’t leave now.

 

“Thanks, noona,” Seungcheol smiled and waved at Sunmi as he left with the kids. On the way over to pick Jihyo up, Seungcheol decided that maybe he and Jihyo were fine at the pace they were going at. Of course, Seungcheol considered the possibility of adding a lot more open flirting and affection in an attempt to diminish the amount of embarrassment they both felt (or so he tried to reason with himself).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was thankfully really easy to write, like it all just came to me in a nice, flowing manner lol. next up, there's going to be another couple of hurdles to jump over huehue
> 
> also, updating might take a bit longer since i want to finish outlining this next section of the story and think about where the story will go~
> 
> anyways, hope you enjoyed it!


	15. life can be a real bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back w/ an updated quicker than i expected huhu

A few weeks go by and Seungcheol and Jihyo have fallen into a comfortable relationship; they’re still nothing defined, yet everything remained as clear as day to them. They both about their days as they usually do: Seungcheol picked the kids up before heading over to get Jihyo, and more often than not, he and Hansol would stay over for dinner; however, there have definitely been some changes in their routine. Most importantly, Jihyo and Tzuyu have gotten into the habit of staying over at Seungcheol’s place on the weekends and Seungcheol and Jihyo talk a lot more frequently throughout the day, sending texts whenever they can (Seungcheol gets terrorized by his friends a lot, but it’s worth it).

 

With the change in their relationship, Jihyo and Seungcheol opened up to each other a lot more as well. In Seungcheol’s opinion, Jihyo has been showcasing her cute side a lot more despite the woman abhorring anything related to acting cute—the only thing that inspired her to continued doing so was how  _ weak _ Seungcheol was to those sorts of things. Seungcheol, on the other hand, revealed himself to be a lot more playful than he has previously shown.

 

(“You’re such a child,” Jihyo has said to him on more than a few occasions with heavy sighs, and yet, Seungcheol simply responded to her with taunting laughter.

 

“You’re not the first to say that to me,” Seungcheol would reply, tongue sticking out mockingly. It always ended up with him being attacked with pillows, though.)

 

And of course, in the mix of all of their relationship changes, the two parents started getting closer to each other’s children as well.

 

Jihyo caught on quick to Hansol’s subtle love for singing; at first, she simply thought it was something that he did unconsciously, nothing much out of the ordinary for anyone—especially not a child—but she watched the way his mood would brighten whenever she hummed a tune or actually sung a song under her breath. She also noticed how Hansol mouthed along to the songs she would sing him and Tzuyu at night whenever they stayed over, and how she would catch him singing them to himself the next day. Jihyo was elated to teach Hansol all kinds of songs, and the young boy was just as excited to learn them.

 

On Seungcheol’s end, Tzuyu never failed to join him whenever he started playing a game—whether it was on his phone, on his consoles, or even a quick basketball game between his friends. Tzuyu always wanted crawl into his lap (or, in the case of a ball game, sit on the sidelines) and watch him play. Which didn’t bother Seungcheol in the slightest, since Tzuyu was good company (she caught on to a lot of useful items and clues whenever he was playing phone or console games). Of course, Seungcheol helped Tzuyu learn how to play several games as well, but her favorite games to play were definitely ball games.

 

All in all, things seemed to be going well for the two for the first time in what seemed like a long time. That is, until a terrible storm hit the city and caused the apartment complex Jihyo and Tzuyu lived in to suffer from long-term damage.

 

“Cheol? Are you—are you busy right now? Wait—I’m sorry—I know it’s early, I just—” Seungcheol rose from his seat the dining table, telling Hansol to keep eating his breakfast. The young boy looked at him with curious eyes, but he did as he was told. Seungcheol ruffled Hansol’s hair before heading into the other room.

 

“Jihyo? Are you okay? Did something happen?” Seungcheol asked, his voice worried, but hushed.

 

Jihyo’s voice wavered from the other end of the phone and Seungcheol was already beginning to prepare himself for heading out. “No, I’m not okay, everything’s  _ ruined _ , Seungcheol. This shitty apartment can’t even handle a stupid fucking storm—”

 

“Woah, Hyo, calm down...please.” Seungcheol guided Jihyo through a few quick deep breaths. “I don’t know what happened, but I’ll be there soon, okay? Do you need anything?”

 

There was a heavy sigh on the other end, and Seungcheol wished it was like all of Jihyo’s other ones—playful, light-hearted, anything but  _ this _ . “I just want yo—” Jihyo cut herself off, and Seungcheol could hear her clearing her throat. “If it’s okay, can you bring any kind of bags or whatever to pack stuff in?”

 

“Yeah, of course, I’ll see what I can scrounge up.” Seungcheol started walking back to the dining area to retrieve Hansol, but he stopped himself for a second. “Before I go...just know that you’ll be okay, Jihyo. I got you no matter what. It doesn’t have to even mean something more than just friends,” Seungcheol said, and he resigned himself with dealing with Jihyo’s unenthusiastic response later before they said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Seungcheol stared at his phone a bit longer, as if he was trying to analyze Jihyo through it, but then he sighed and ran a hand through his hair before going back to the dining area.

 

“Dad?” Hansol turned towards Seungcheol from playing with his food. Seungcheol disposed of whatever Hansol didn’t eat, then picked Hansol up.

 

“We’re going on a little trip, Sol. I think Jihyo is having some problems...or maybe a lot of problems…” Seungcheol explained to his son before he went to go tidy them both up a bit and gather whatever bags he could find (which was nothing much, just some suitcases, sports bags that he used for going to the gym, and oversized bags he’d use for his groceries). After grabbing everything he needed, Seungcheol left the house with Hansol in tow and hurried over to Jihyo’s place.

 

Or, what was left of Jihyo’s place.

 

When Seungcheol arrived a few moments, he saw what Jihyo’s panic was about. The apartment building wasn’t as great as it could have been before, but it was a mess now—all kinds of residents stood outside of the building, lamenting about flooding or broken windows. Seungcheol knew the storm last night was bad (it was enough for Hansol to startle in the middle of the night and cry to sleep with him), but he didn’t know it was  _ that _ bad. Seungcheol made a beeline towards Jihyo with the bags that she requested in hand, trying not to look at her too pitifully.

 

“Oh, you’re here already?” Jihyo asked a bit dazedly. She looked stressed, and Seungcheol knew she had to be on the verge of tears, but he also knew that Jihyo would hold onto her tears until everything was settled and she could find some time to be alone.

 

“Yeah, might’ve broken a few laws to get here, but I’m here.” Seungcheol tried to joke, managing to bring out the smallest of smiles from Jihyo. “Shall we get packing?” Seungcheol’s suggestion was cautious; he hated having to remind Jihyo of her situation, but he figured it’d be better to salvage what they could now rather than later.

 

“Y-yeah...let’s—let’s go. If you’re okay with it, Tzuyu is waiting with one of the older residents I’m close with, so Hansol can wait with them. I didn’t want to take her back in there, there’s so much water damage and broken glass everywhere…” Jihyo motioned over to an older lady that had Tzuyu resting in her lap. Seungcheol had never seen Tzuyu so distressed in her life.

 

“She looks like he could use a friend right now, too. How about it, Sol?” Seungcheol looked down at his son who was visibly very confused. Despite his confusion, Hansol nodded at his dad anyways, and without waiting, he ran over to the older woman and Tzuyu, determined. He greeted the woman politely, then greeted Tzuyu with enthusiasm. Seungcheol and Jihyo watched as Tzuyu’s face brightened considerably, and she crawled out of the older woman’s lap to hug Hansol, excitedly introducing him to her neighbor. Seungcheol smiled and looked towards Jihyo who seemed to relax at the sight.

 

The two parents continued on their mission to salvage whatever they could from Jihyo’s apartment. Jihyo instructed Seungcheol on which things to take (he picked up most of Tzuyu’s favorite toys and books, Jeongyeon’s lego sets, and any photobooks with a green sticker on the front). After packing up what they could, Jihyo organized any remaining things that she needed in the living room and kitchen before they headed back down to load Seungcheol’s car.

 

“Alright, everything’s loaded. Time to head out,” Seungcheol shut the trunk of his car with finality and began making his way to the passenger’s side of the car to open Jihyo’s door for her, but she stopped him.

 

“Actually, you can just take Tzuyu with you. The girls are on their way over as well with boxes for me to pack the rest of the stuff up in, so I’m staying here,”

 

Seungcheol turned to face Jihyo. “Do you want me to stay here with you until they come?” He placed his hands on her shoulders and massaged them slightly. Jihyo grinned softly and fell into the gentle motions for a moment.

 

“I’m not going to get attacked, Cheol, I’ll be fine. I probably won’t even be waiting long,” Jihyo placed her hands on top of Seungcheol’s and slid them off of her shoulders casually. Jihyo stepped closer to Seungcheol and cupped his face with her hands before pulling him down and kissing him quickly. 

 

“Probably isn’t very reassuring, but I see you’ve made your points,” Seungcheol mumbled against Jihyo’s lips when they pulled away. Jihyo chuckled shortly, stepping away from Seungcheol completely to go gather the children. Seungcheol watched Jihyo go as he leaned against the car; he didn’t know how well he was helping her keep it together, but he figured small smiles and short bouts of chuckles weren’t too bad. Jihyo returned not too much later with the children clasping onto each of her hands.

 

“Alright, kids, I’ll see you both soon okay?” Jihyo bent down to the kids heights when she spoke to them. The two children nodded, and they both hugged her goodbye. Before they totally parted ways, though, Jihyo gathered Tzuyu up into her arms. “You know we’re going to be okay, right, Tzu?” Jihyo asked her daughter worriedly.

 

Tzuyu nodded quickly. “Will  _ you _ be okay, Mommy?” Jihyo raised her brows at the question. Tzuyu looked at her mother with her classic, unwavering stare. Jihyo glanced at Seungcheol who was watching over the two of them, then looked back at her daughter with the biggest smile she could muster.

 

“Yeah, I’ll be okay, baby.” Jihyo kissed her daughter on her cheek then buckled her up in her car seat. Seungcheol gave Jihyo one last kiss to her forehead before he got into the car and finally headed out.

 

Moving into Seungcheol’s place was more of an ordeal than it should have been, and Seungcheol supposed it had something to do with Jihyo’s friends. From them complaining about why it was  _ his _ place she was moving in to, to making a big deal about the look of his apartment (they said it was plain, Seungcheol insisted that he was a  _ minimalist _ ), to making subtle jabs at the things Jihyo chose to save—they side-eyed a few photobooks with red stickers on the front, seemingly insignificant trinkets, things of that manner. 

 

Jihyo managed to keep it together, though, from what Seungcheol could tell. There were many times where he caught her holding in deep sighs or snappy remarks. More often than not, he and Jihyo would share a look and he’d have to calm her down silently. Seungcheol didn’t necessarily despise Jihyo’s friends, but he tried his best to relieve the stress that Jihyo was under earlier, and they didn’t nothing but stress her out more. He figured that  _ they _ figured that it was only friendly teasing, or rather helpful remarks even, but one look at Jihyo—or the entire situation, really—and one should know that now wasn’t really the time for all of that.

 

“Finally, we’re finished,” Nayeon groaned and plopped down on Seungcheol’s sofa. Sana curled up next to her wife and turned on the television. Jeongyeon began sorting out her Lego collection onto Seungcheol’s shelves, while Mina sighed and shook her head.

 

“Yeah, finally,” Jihyo mumbled under her breath, quickly excusing herself before hurrying back towards the guest room that was now serving as her room. Seungcheol glanced back at the women who were already immersed in their own business to make sure they really weren’t paying attention then followed Jihyo down the hall.

 

Seungcheol entered the guest room quietly, his heart breaking at the sight of Jihyo kneeled at the end of the bed, sobbing. He hurried over to Jihyo and wrapped his arms around her, wordlessly. Seungcheol let Jihyo cry until her sobs began to die down, and then he tried to turn her towards him.

 

“It’s fine, I’m fine—” Jihyo choked out, pushing Seungcheol away.

 

Seungcheol pulled back, but he didn’t leave. “Jihyo, you’re not fine. Nothing about this is fine, but that’s okay,”

 

“It’s not okay, though!” Jihyo’s voice rose, but she was careful not to yell. “I hate this, always feeling like such a burden. It’s always you whose bending over backwards for me, but what can I do? I couldn’t even afford a decent enough apartment for my child to live in, let alone try to pay you back for everything,”

 

Seungcheol, a fan of actions rather than words, pulled back into Jihyo and kissed her deeply. “Jihyo, you don’t need to worry about any of that, I promise you. Helping you and Tzuyu, it’s not something that I feel like I  _ have _ to do, it’s something I  _ want _ to do, you know that. I’ve been at the place that feels like the bottom before, I know what regret and burden feels like. It’s a hellish feeling, even when I had a good source of support. I don’t want that for you, because I care for you,”

 

Tears began spilling over from Jihyo once again. “I’m sorry,” She managed to get out before burying herself into Seungcheol. Seungcheol hugged Jihyo tightly, pressing firm kisses to her head.

 

“Don’t worry about it.” Seungcheol replied, stroking Jihyo’s hair. To help placate her further, Seungcheol listed out all of the positives that could come from this. From Hansol and Tzuyu having permanent playmates, to being able to watch their favorite dramas togethers, to how convenient living with him would be for her. “We can even go shopping together now, and all of the aunties can finally see me with the girlfriend they’ve been wishing upon me,” Seungcheol and Jihyo—now having calmed down and cheered up—share a laugh.

 

The two of them share a few more soft kisses before they head back out to the living room (Jihyo groaned, but Seungcheol gave her encouraging squeezes to her shoulders). Jihyo is pounced on as soon as they return, because it was glaringly obvious that she had been crying.

 

“You really—” Nayeon started to scold Seungcheol, but Jihyo stopped her with a sigh.

 

“Cheol, you should probably go watch the kids,” Jihyo turned back towards Seungcheol and he saluted, hurrying back towards Hansol’s room. He closed the door behind him with a quiet sigh, then he settled down on Hansol’s bed; he wasn’t sure what kind of talk Jihyo and her friends will have, but he had a feeling that it was going to take a while, so he decided to get comfortable and watch as Hansol and Tzuyu showed Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Momo around Hansol’s room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, i finished outlining the rest of the story! i plan on ending this fic at 20 chapters (not including the prologue lol), because i feel like i've gotten everything out of the way (well, except one thing, but that'll be for...something else lol)
> 
> also, i've somewhat deduced that this story takes place during the spring? since it rains a lot in the spring, and rain has become a thing for this fic. i know it doesn't exactly follow how the korean school year is set up, but honestly,,,,,let's just pretend that i remember how that works
> 
> anyways, i hope you enjoyed this chapter~


	16. for your sake, just let it all go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is from jihyo's pov!

Jihyo sighed as Seungcheol left the room, but she was glad for it nonetheless; even though the last time Seungcheol met up with her friends, it was a much lighter time and she enjoyed the way they grilled him, Jihyo obviously knew that this time was different. Jihyo loved her friends, but she knew that if they had any inclination that her and Seungcheol were anything more than friends, they wouldn’t hesitate to say something careless and make things awkward for the both of them. However, Jihyo also knew Seungcheol well enough to know that he would have taken on all of their questions and careless remarks without hesitation, which made Jihyo smile.

 

Unfortunately, Jihyo’s smile didn’t get to last long.

 

“She said he didn’t make her cry, but he made her last time, so I don’t doubt he’d do it again,” Jeongyeon remarked.

 

“He looks like the type of meathead to make women cry,” Nayeon rolled her eyes.

 

“Will you two  _ stop it _ , Seungcheol isn’t a bad guy. And the last time he made me cry, it wasn’t even really his fault. I just had a lot of things built up and he happened to say something that made everything come out. Same goes for this time, too.” Jihyo shoved at her friends lightly with a playfully annoyed pout as she made her way to the sofa. She curled right up to Mina’s side, and Mina smiled and wrapped her arm around her friend. “I was just worried, that’s all. I’ve always felt somewhat like a burden to him, and then we started getting serious—”

 

“Wait,” Nayeon interjected with a scoff. “ _ what?” _

 

“What do you mean getting serious?” Jeongyeon asked, voice low and laced with confusion.

 

“Ohhhh, Jihyo-yah,” Sana squealed while she made her way over to Jihyo’s other side. Mina gasped, and she didn’t say anything other than soft a “Eh?”

 

“You’re joking right?” Nayeon continued, her and Jeongyeon sparing a look at each other before turning back to Jihyo.

 

Jihyo raised a brow at the look before furrowing her brows. “No, I’m not joking. What was that look for?” Jihyo sat up, from her position curled up into Mina’s side. Nayeon and Jeongyeon moved to sit in front of the couch, on the floor, joining the other three.

 

“Listen, Jihyo, considering how your last relationship went, we’re just not convinced Seungcheol is all he’s cracked up to be,” Jeongyeon shrugged. Jihyo had fire at the tip of her tongue at that statement, but Nayeon was faster to follow up.

 

“There just  _ has _ to be something wrong with him. He’s a good-looking, in decent shape, “nice guy” with a cute kid—he’s the type of person that gets eaten up  _ quick _ . You know what? Maybe that’s the problem,” Nayeon chuckled and wagged a finger at Jihyo. “he’s bi right? There’s no way he’s not gonna cheat, then,” It was at this comment where Jihyo finally shot up from where he was sitting, absolutely furious.

 

“That is  _ it! _ ” Jihyo seetheed, hands clenched at her sides. “I’m not even going to comment on what you said about my last relationship and what you so lovingly implied about me, Jeong, but Im Nayeon, how  _ dare _ you even  _ go _ there!” Jihyo’s voice was firm, and he tried her best to keep the volume down as to not startle the children or Seungcheol.

 

“Jihyo—” Jeongyeon and Nayeon started, but she cut them off.

 

“No, you guys talk all the time, and I force myself to listen. This time...this time you’re going to listen to me.” Jihyo held up a finger, stopping the other two from speaking up again. Jihyo took a deep breath to calm herself down before she finally let everything out. “First of all, Nayeon unnie, I really can’t believe you’d say something like that. Not just about Seungcheol, but about bisexual individuals in general. I thought you were better than that…” Jihyo’s stare on Nayeon was unmoving, and the older woman couldn’t do anything but hang her head low.

 

“And you know, ever since the Mark thing happened, I’ve been suffering, and I’ve done all of that suffering all on my own. You guys are my best friends, you’re supposed to let me know when I’ve made mistakes, that’s true, but you’re not supposed to make me feel like absolute shit because of them. You’re supposed to support me, to help me move on, but you guys never did any of that. You were so judgemental, that I decided to keep everything in and pretend like I wasn’t hurting, like I was above it all. And that  _ killed _ me inside, but I couldn’t do anything about. I had to suck it all up and raise a child all by myself.” Jihyo realized a little bit too late that she had began crying again, and that her voice might have been getting a little loud, so he took another deep breath and wiped at her face.

 

“Even though I feel like a burden to him more often than not, I’m so damn grateful for Seungcheol in my life. I finally had someone I could connect with, someone I could finally break down to and they wouldn’t judge me for my past mistakes and continue to bring me down further than I bring myself down.” That comment made Nayeon and Jeongyeon wince, and Jihyo could see their own tears falling down their faces slowly. “If you guys, my best friends, won’t let go of the past so you can start helping me in the present then...then maybe I don’t need friends like you. And this isn’t me choosing a man over you, this is me choosing to finally stop letting myself feel burdened by things I’ve long since haven’t been able to change, and stop letting others making me feel burdened as well.” Jihyo’s chest ached at the sight of her friends looks of fear when we mentioned not being friends anymore, but she stood her ground; Jihyo stood straight, chin leveled, gaze unwavering—she was more serious about this than she had ever been about anything else in her life.

 

Jihyo had never felt more unsettled, yet so  _ free _ .

 

Regardless of Jihyo’s feelings being directed more towards her long-time friends, Nayeon and Jeongyeon, Sana was the first to rush up to Jihyo to hug her. Sana hugged Jihyo’s side and apologized for everything despite never really being apart of the problem, and even Mina joined in with her own tears in her eyes, shining like diamonds. Nayeon and Jeongyeon didn’t move in until Sana and Mina got their fill of apologizing in and finally pulled away to rest back onto the couch.

 

Jeongyeon ran her hand through her hair several times, much like she always did whenever she was stressed, and she sniffled. “Jihyo, you mean the entire world to me, you know that, right? I’m so sorry, for everything,” Jeongyeon hugged Jihyo tenderly, wrapping Jihyo up in her arms completely. When she pulled away, Jeongyeon took Jihyo’s face into her hands and placed a chaste kiss on the top of Jihyo’s head as she always used to do when they were younger.

 

Next was Nayeon, who had steadily become a mess of tears. Nayeon practically fell into Jihyo and hugged her tightly, kissing her temples repeatedly. “Jihyo-yah, I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have let my overprotectiveness get to that point. I love you so much, and your happiness means the world to me, it truly does. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I love you,” Nayeon mumbled out through her sobs along with how they couldn’t stop being friends, the universe wouldn’t allow it.

 

(“And just who does the universe think it is?” Jihyo scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully, knowing exactly where this was going.

 

“Me, I’m the universe,” Nayeon cried out, hugging Jihyo tighter.)

 

Afterwards, all of the women sat together (Sana and Mina moved to the floor so Nayeon and Jeongyeon could sandwich Jihyo in between them) and continued to talk everything out; however, it was mostly Jihyo elaborating on her relationship with Seungcheol.

 

“Well, we happened to meet while picking up the kids one day; I was running late as usual, but he was there watching while Hansol and Tzuyu played. We ended up talking anyways because Hansol and and the girls had become friends recently. Cheol was really hesitant to talk about himself in the beginning, but his vague situation ended up sounding like my situation, so I became a bit interested,” Jihyo recalled their first meeting with a fond smile.

 

“Straight out of a romcom,” Nayeon commented softly with a sniffle.

 

“Oh, just you wait…” Jihyo snorted. “Anyways, he offered to give me a ride next time and we exchanged numbers so he could know when I got home safely before we parted ways that day. Next time I hit him up, he had a whole car seat for Tzuyu, had just bought it. He set up the whole thing in the rain, and oh my god,” Jihyo leaned back into the sofa and squealed quietly. Now that she was finally starting to move on to something more with Seungcheol, thinking about all of their past memories made her a lot more flustered than they did before.

 

“Are you thinking about how rocking abs?” Jeongyeon grinned lopsidedly and nudged at Jihyo.

 

“Pervert!” Mina quipped quietly with a teasing chuckle, tongue poked out between her teeth.

 

“No,  _ shut up _ . He doesn’t even have abs...” Jihyo covered her face. “It’s just that, I remembered that he not only gave Tzuyu his cap, he also covered her with the towel I gave him to make sure she didn’t get wet. It was so cute and he looked like such a dad,”

 

“Are you swooning because he looked like he was  _ Tzuyu’s _ dad?” Sana asked, head rested on Nayeon’s lap. She was smiling coyly as she watched Jihyo flush and cover her face once more.

 

“ _ Anyways _ , from there, he kept giving me rides and it was fun because we would hang out at my place often instead of just doing a drop off. The kids got to hangout a lot and we got to know each other more, hence why I was able to talk to him about Mark and whatnot. But the most fun I had was when  _ he _ finally opened up about his past relationship,”

 

“Yeah, learning about other people’s past emotional trauma  _ is _ fun,” Mina chimed in and the women simply looked at her.

Mina looked back at all of them with a pout. “...That was supposed to be a joke…” The group of women nodded slowly before turning back to Jihyo.

 

“It wasn’t his emotional breakdown that was fun,  _ Mina _ ,” Jihyo gave Mina a pointed look. “but afterwards. I took him out in the rain and we just played. We weren’t single parents who had to carry the world on their shoulders, we were just two irresponsible young adults in that moment. It felt good. For the first time in a long time, I felt my actual age. Even better if when he kissed me goodnight and was so flustered about it while also being absolutely sure of what he did. He didn’t pretend to promise me forever, just something, which was honestly all we needed because we were both still healing. Then we promised each other someday the next morning, because Hansol asked about us getting married, and neither of us could say no—didn’t want to, actually.” At this, Nayeon and Sana squealed. Sana placing herself in Nayeon’s lap and the two of them hugged each other tight.

 

“I can’t believe I’m friends with a drama plotline,” Nayeon joked, burying her face into Sana’s chest.

 

“Midseason climax: he called me his girlfriend before we came back into the living room,” Jihyo squealed, and the rest of the group squealed once again. They haven’t done these kinds of things in a while, and Jihyo has never felt better than she did now. She felt like things were finally starting to go right in her life again: her relationship with her friends was back to where it used to be, she wasn’t burdened by her past anymore, and finally, she had someone who she could fearlessly promise forever with.

 

“He really takes care of you, huh?” Jeongyeon said, leaning her head on Jihyo’s shoulder as she clung to Mina who felt left out on the floor by herself.

 

The fond smile that Jihyo was sporting before was back. “Yeah…” The women looked on as Jihyo seemingly got into her thoughts again. Over the course of their talk, it had become clear to them that Seungcheol wasn’t another mark, not by a longshot—his promises of forever were quite different in the fact that Seungcheol was broken and unsure of himself, but when it came down to Jihyo, he was absolutely certain that she was who he wanted, and he made sure to take it slow with her to prove it, too. He took care of Jihyo when she needed someone the most—something that her friends will lament for quite a while—and to top it all off, Tzuyu seemed to really like him as well (Jihyo had explained that Tzuyu accidentally referred to him as “daddy” not too long ago). Seungcheol was the kind of guy that Mark made himself out to be, but this time, the women didn’t see Seungcheol changing any time soon—or ever, for that fact.

 

In the end, the women ended their talk with Jihyo demanding that they apologize to Seungcheol for being so callous to him. Jihyo went to bring him out, and when she did, he returned with his hair in all kinds of ponytails and various colors decorating his face was seemed to be an attempt at makeup. The mothers looked at him in half-horror, half-amusement, but he waved it off as he was the one who offered himself up to the School Meal Club’s makeup substitute of markers instead. With this, the women couldn’t hold in their laughter anymore, but Jihyo noticed that it wasn’t teasing as it used to be; her friends looked at Seungcheol warmly, and Jihyo felt even better as both of her worlds finally came together (in every sense of the phrase).

 

All of the women apologized for their behavior towards Seungcheol the times that they met him, specifically Nayeon. “It’s cool.” Seungcheol accepted their apology easily. “Jihyo is your friend, and she went through a tough time. You all just wanted to protect her. Though, you all might not have chosen the best method—in my humblest, outsider opinion—it was coming from a good place, at least.” Seungcheol smiled and Nayeon shoved at him for being too much of a good guy.

 

Nonetheless, they all offer to help Seungcheol clean up—Mina and Jeongyeon make quick work of cleaning up his face, being experts in the art of washing marker (amongst other art supplies) off of surfaces since Chaeyoung  _ is _ their daughter, while Sana and Nayeon help with untangling his ponytails that were definitely the work of Dahyun.

 

“Thanks a lot for making me presentable again.” Seungcheol ran a hand through his hair, pleased to have the ponytails out since they ended up actually hurting  _ a lot _ when Nayeon and Sana started taking them out. The women answer with varying responses of “No problem,” since their kids get up to those kinds of things on the daily. “It’s not too late, but if you all want, you can stay for dinner? I’ll have to go do some major grocery shopping though,”

 

“Sounds good!” Jeongyeon exclaimed excitedly, clasping her hands together.

 

“I guess we can finish moving Jihyo in in the meantime, there’s still a lot to get done,” Mina looked around at some of the boxes that littered just the living room of the apartment.

 

“Sounds like a plan, I guess?” Jihyo looked towards Seungcheol and he gave her a thumbs up. She smiled brightly at him and returned the gesture.

 

“If you need any extra room for anything, my room has all the space in the world,” Seungcheol said as he started getting ready to leave. Jihyo patted him on the back with a soft thank you before her and the rest headed back to what was now going to be her room with a few boxes in hand while Seungcheol left to go shopping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!


	17. sailing has never felt so smooth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was supposed to be a short & simple transitional chapter, which is why i'm updating so soon, but i had to extend it bc lol
> 
> also, we're back to cheol's pov, but this is also like an omniscient pov chapter (sorry if it switches too much fjdkl)

Dating Jihyo was very much akin to dating Jeonghan during high school. Seungcheol felt nervous and emotionally high all the time—it was all too much in the best of ways.

 

Seungcheol had long since forgotten how good it felt to have someone to come home to—well, come home  _ with _ on most days, but the sentiment still stood on those days when he had work, but Jihyo didn’t. He also had forgotten how good it felt to have dinner with more than just two people; the joyful back and forth the two little families (or, dare he say, the  _ one _ perfect family) had as the ate dinner together either at the table or in front of the television never failed to make Seungcheol’s day regardless of how tough work might have gotten. Sometimes, Seungcheol would even catch himself just staring at Jihyo and the kids because he couldn’t believe he was so lucky and just so genuinely happy for what felt like the first time in forever.

 

And it wasn’t just their relationship dynamics that changed, there were other life changes that ended up coming along as well.

 

After the damage done to Jihyo’s apartment building (which Seungcheol convinced his workplace to donate money to in order to help repair costs; he couldn’t forget how damaged that place was to begin with, and seeing all of the older residents that day shook something inside of him), Jihyo had begun working harder to try and find a job that was a lot more stable and would provide the same income of her current three jobs. In the end, Jihyo managed to land a much more well-paying job as an elementary school music teacher. On the other hand, Seungcheol ended up getting a promotion at his workplace as well; he was sad about having to move departments, but he wasn’t  _ too _ alone considering Jihoon had transferred to his company and was working in the department that Seungcheol had moved to.

 

Between the two of them, there was a significant enough increase in income that Seungcheol ended up surprising Jihyo with a car. It wasn’t anything too special, knowing Jihyo would have thrown a fit if Seungcheol had went all out on her, but it wasn’t a terrible car either. It was used, but in great condition, since Seungcheol made sure he had it fixed up to the best of his ability.

 

Slowly but surely, Seungcheol and Jihyo’s lives began to weave together until Seungcheol’s apartment became  _ their _ apartment, Jihyo’s friends became  _ his _ friends, and vice versa. It took some time getting used to, Seungcheol would admit; having four women suddenly in his apartment almost all the time was a bit jarring, considering the only women he’s recently been in constant contact willingly were Sunmi and Jihyo. Nonetheless, Seungcheol grew to enjoy the company, especially since none of them held any overprotective disdain for him anymore.

 

It was exceptionally fun whenever Seungcheol’s friends insisted on visiting as well, because Seungcheol nor Jihyo could have ever imagined their friend groups to click as well as they did. Nayeon, Junhui, and Jeonghan were immediate friends, connecting over their love of children and animals, and finding solace in having people who understood their underappreciated over-the-top personalities. Then there was Jeongyeon, Jihoon, and Wonwoo who happened to connect over figures, games, and anime; Seungcheol and Jihyo had never seen Jeongyeon so animated while talking to a man, let alone  _ two _ men. Mina and Joshua also seemed to get along well, but their conversation was so hushed, neither of the hosting couple could catch any of what they could have been talking about. Lastly, Sana and Soonyoung connected over what they called “hamster connection”. Seungcheol and Jihyo shared a look before slowly shaking their heads.

 

“So you had one too?” Jihyo sighed.

 

“Yep,” Seungcheol answered with a sigh of his own.

 

While the adults engaged in their various conversations, the children that were gathered together in Hansol and Tzuyu’s room, came out and stood before all of them.

 

Dahyun caught all of the adults attention, and when they quieted down, she cleared her throat for dramatic effect (inciting a hushed squeal from Junhui and a quick “That’s my baby!” from Nayeon). “Ladies and gen-tol-mans! We have gathered you here today to  introduce the School Meal Club’s newest members!” Dahyun presented proudly. Tzuyu instructed everyone to clap, which they did, while Chaeyoung hid her face into her hands.

 

“First, we will introduce ourselves, because there are many gen-tol-mans here that I do not know and my mommy and mama told me to never talk to strange mens!” Dahyun looked excitedly to her mothers and both Sana and Nayeon gave her excited nods and thumbs up. “My name is Im Dahyun, and I’m the leader of the School Meal Club! Nice to meet you,” Dahyun saluted and took a bow, stumbling forward a bit before righting herself and smiling brightly at the adults. Junhui and Jeonghan shared a squeal and Seungcheol could hear them both offer up babysitting help if need be.

 

Dahyun stepped aside and pushed Chaeyoung forward with a big pat on her back. “I’m Yoo Chaeyoung,” Chaeyoung kept her head tilted low even as she saluted, then she gave a quick bow and rushed back behind the other girls. Dahyun scolded Chaeyoung for being rude not-so-quietly and the little girl flushed even redder. “Nice to meet you all…” Chaeyoung stepped back up to the front, hiding behind Tzuyu who had already moved up, ready to introduce herself. She finished properly greeted the adults and then rushed back to the back. Mina and Jeongyeon cheered their daughter on while Momo simply yelled out for her to stop pretending to be shy (which she got scolded about by Mina, and then Mina scolded Jeongyeon for laughing and agreeing).

 

Tzuyu stepped forward and saluted. “Park Tzuyu, School Meal Club maknae. Nice to meet you all,” Tzuyu introduced herself formally, took her bow and then let Dahyun have her place at the front again.

 

“Now, with how farter doodoo—”

 

“ _ Without further ado _ , Dahyunnie,” Nayeon tried not to laugh too hard as she corrected her daughter, but it was hard when Sana’s laugh was so infectious and everyone else was snickering behind their hands as well.

 

“What mommy said!” Dahyun laughed. “The School Meal Club’s newest member, who we have checked day and night for cooties, Choi Hansol! Applesauce!” Dahyun presented Hansol with rapidfire  _ applause _ . The adults in the room almost bursted out into laughter again, but the managed to hold it in to not make Hansol feel even more embarrassed than the five year old already was (if his red face was anything to go by).

 

“H-hi…” Hansol greeted with a small wave, but Dahyun was quick to correct him.

 

“No, you have to do it like we practiced!” Dahyun had advised not so quietly once again.

 

Hansol huffed, but he complied anyways. He saluted just like how Dahyun taught him previously with his chest puffed out. “School Meal Club, salute!” Hansol called out and then he bowed and returned to his place.

 

“Now, we have our mas—cot, Yoon Chan! App—”

 

“ _ Applause _ ,” Nayeon offered before Dahyun finished.

 

“Applause!” Dahyun smiled brightly and brought Chan forward. It was very clear that Chan had no idea what was going on exactly, but he looked happy regardless. “Do you remember what we taught you, Channie?”

 

Chan stared at Dahyun blankly for a few moments before slowly bringing his hand up to his head. Dahyun smiled and nodded encouragingly, helping Chan out with his salute and what to say before letting him repeat it. “School Meal Club, salute!” Chan beamed, looking towards Dahyun. She gave him a thumbs up and a reminder to bow and then go back to his spot. Chan did as Dahyun said (he bowed while still saluting, which made Jeonghan and Joshua huff out in soft laughter) before going to to his spot next to Hansol again.

 

“And that con—concu—concoo— The end! Thank you!” Dahyun struggled with her words before eventually giving up, and then she motioned for the others to hold hands and take one last bow together. All of the adults clapped for the children with wide smiles on their faces.

 

“That’s not fair, how come  _ I _ can’t be a member?” Momo pouted from between Jeongyeon’s legs. For once, Chaeyoung didn’t seem so shy as she huffed and crossed her little arms across her chest, waltzing up to her older sister.

 

“That’s because you’re too  _ old _ , Momoring unnie,” Chaeyoung explained, and not for the first time it seemed. Momo grumbled and crawled into her Mina’s lap to continue pouting about how she wasn’t old, Mina simply patting her daughter on her back and placating her softly.

 

After the children finished their display of announcing club members, the adults eased their way back into their various conversations, as the children (including Momo, since she didn’t want to be left with older people) went back to Hansol’s room to play; however, Hansol lagged behind.

 

“Dad,” Hansol’s voice was soft as he tugged at Seungcheol’s pant leg. Seungcheol immediately took his son into his arms and headed into the kitchen. One look at Hansol’s shining eyes and he just knew what this was going to be about. Seungcheol sat Hansol onto the counter in front of him and looked at his son softly. “was that…”

 

“Yeah, sweetie, that was Daddy.” Seungcheol’s heart broke at Hansol’s soft, quite tears that began to spill over faster than he probably intended because Hansol kept wiping at his face like he didn’t mean to cry, like he didn’t  _ want _ to cry. Seungcheol wondered if he taught his son bad coping techniques unintentionally. “It’s okay to cry, Hansol, I cried, too. C’mere,” Seungcheol picked Hansol back up and hugged his son as tightly as he could. Hansol buried his face into Seungcheol’s shoulder and allowed himself to sob. Seungcheol simply swayed back and forth and tried not to let himself cry either, because if  _ he _ cried, then things would have been awkward.

 

“Uh,” Seungcheol turned around to the sight of Jeonghan standing unsurely in the entryway. “is it bad if I come in?”

 

“Better late than never?” Seungcheol smiled tightly. Jeonghan cautiously made his way into the kitchen and ended up standing awkwardly next to Seungcheol and Hansol.

 

“Sol, look, it’s Daddy,” Seungcheol tried to rouse his son from his shoulder, but it took a few tries before Hansol was convinced to raise his head. Jeonghan deflated at the sight of Hansol’s face red and wet from crying.

 

“Sollie,” Jeonghan started, the nickname sounding far too foreign on his lips. “can I...can I have a hug?” Jeonghan asked with arms stretched out, though he was certainly prepared for rejection. Hansol looked up at his father, and all Seungcheol dared to provide was a smile. Whatever choice Hansol made was his to make alone, and despite being young, Seungcheol knew that Hansol could handle such a task.

 

Hansol turned back towards Jeonghan and stared for a few moments. “...Okay,” Hansol muttered, slowly stretching his arms out towards Jeonghan. Jeonghan began to cry himself as he took Hansol into his arms for the first time years. He hugged Hansol just like he used to, and even began singing the same little tune that Hansol absolutely loved as a baby that Seungcheol could never remember. Hansol and Jeonghan cried together with Seungcheol looking on with burning eyes himself.

 

Eventually, Jeonghan and Hansol both stopped crying long enough for Jeonghan to request Hansol to tell him anything and everything, to which Hansol unsteadily complied. The young boy wasn’t sure where to start, so Seungcheol offered a suggestion: starting with how well he reads now and what kinds of books he liked. Hansol beamed at this, and he proceeded to tell Jeonghan about all of the books Seungcheol had gotten him and especially about his favorite one. From there Hansol told Jeonghan about what he and Seungcheol have gotten up to, the small trips that they’ve taken here and there, the toys that Seungcheol bought him, joining the School Meal Club.

 

The image was bittersweet, Seungcheol had to admit. Seeing Jeonghan—his first love, his first everything—with the child that they adopted together and raised together for a short period of time made various feelings well up inside of him.

 

“Oh, there you two are,” Jihyo peeked her head into the kitchen with Joshua at her side. Seungcheol moved his gaze from Jeonghan and Hansol to her, and it seemed like Tzuyu was the cause of their curiosity because the little girl was hiding behind Jihyo’s legs. Seungcheol bent down and called Tzuyu over, smiling as the little girl ran over to him with no hesitation and he picked her up. Jihyo smiled and made her way over to Seungcheol, bowing towards Jeonghan along the way.

 

“Did you miss Sol that much, Tzutzu,” Seungcheol teased the little girl in his arms.

 

“It’s rude to disappear on people,” Tzuyu responded with a teasing smile much like her mother’s. Seungcheol looked towards Jihyo and the young mother had never looked so proud.

 

“Sorry to keep him for so long, it’s just…” Jeonghan spoke up, staring at Hansol one good time before handing him to Jihyo.

 

“Don’t worry about it.” Jihyo stroked Hansol’s hair and wiped any residual tears from the little boy’s face. “I’m sure this is what you guys really needed, after all,” Jihyo placed a soft kiss to Hansol’s forehead, to which Hansol giggled at and cuddled into her, then turned to smile just as softly to Jeonghan.

 

Jeonghan looked at the four of them, how they made the perfect little family as they held each other’s kids as their own and unconsciously leaned into each other’s sides, and he returned Jihyo’s soft smile. “Yeah, definitely.” Jeonghan replied and suggested that they let the kids go back to playing and the rest agreed. Seungcheol and Jihyo let down Tzuyu and Hansol and the two little ones went off to play (although, Hansol did spare one last hug to Jeonghan), then went back into the living room with Jeonghan and Joshua and joined back in on the conversation.

 

Later that night, after everyone had left and the family had already gone through their nightly routine of dinner, baths, and being tucked into bed (which Tzuyu now officially had her own bed, but the children still slept together more often than not), Jihyo asked Seungcheol something out of the blue.

 

“Hey, Cheol,” Jihyo tugged at Seungcheol’s shirt from behind. “can I sleep with you...tonight…?” Jihyo asked suddenly, catching Seungcheol off guard. True, they were dating officially now, but sleeping together was still a challenge for both of them—especially since they both barely managed to get the hang of cuddling.

 

“S-sure…?” Seungcheol agreed nonetheless, and they made their way into Seungcheol’s room that incidentally, had quite a lot of Jihyo’s things in them. It was an awkward affair, situating themselves into Seungcheol’s bed; they couldn’t decided if they wanted to cuddle or not, and eventually they had both stopped thrashing about and just stared at each other exasperatedly before bursting out into laughter that was hushed a few chuckles too late. Ultimately, they decided to simply face each other—not too far apart to where it’d seem a bit ridiculous, but not too close where they would feel awkward either.

 

“You know, it’s weird,” Seungcheol mumbled, on the verge of falling asleep.

 

“Hm?” Jihyo hummed in response.

 

“How everything feels like it’s falling into place all perfect, it’s weird…”

 

There was a pause, and Seungcheol assumed for a moment that Jihyo had fallen asleep. “Yeah,” She ended up replying with a short chuckle. “it is weird. But a nice weird, though,”

 

Seungcheol stared at Jihyo as she struggled to keep her eyes open. He smiled and boldly stroked her cheek, urging her to sleep. Jihyo leaned into Seungcheol’s touch, and her breathing evened out. “Definitely a nice weird.” Seungcheol whispered, sighing peacefully as he fell asleep right after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can't believe i almost forgot that jeonghan was hansol's daddy and this is the first time they're meeting since hansol was around two
> 
> and kjdls i really don't know how to write kid speech, so i tried my best....heh. i imagine dahyun stumbles over her words a lot bc mama sana's korean is great, but she still messes up sometimes, and it rubbed off on dahyun since she's the one dahyun spends most of her time with (poor mommy nayeon) also, i imagine dahyun to be ambitious with her vocab since nayeon is a drama professor for university and their productions are a bit difficult (and fyi, sana is an amateur model while also working at a high-end clothing store)
> 
> as for chaeng, mina does her best to teach her children proper korean, and chaeng listens to her mother well; however, jeongyeon uses a lot of slang and informal speech, which rubbed off on momo unfortunately (sometimes chaeng will use slang and informal speech when she's only with jeongyeon). anyways, chaeng doesn't mess up a lot when speaking, but when there is a word she doesn't know how to say, she tries to beat around the bush until others answer for her fjkdls she gets embarrassed when she stumbles over her words. (mina works in hospital management of her father's hospital while jeongyeon is an amateur film maker on the rise within the indie film community)
> 
> and tzuyu, well tzuyu speaks very properly because that's what partially what jihyo taught her and partially what she had picked up from watching jihyo interact with customers or her students' parents. as for mandarin, tzuyu doesn't speak it often since she has no one to speak it with, but jihyo still tries her best to have tzuyu learn it whenever she can.
> 
> a little unintentional (but needed?) background info on the girls lol
> 
> anyways, hope you enjoyed it!


	18. to the first of many

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is super late. since the last update, i've had a migraines and then cramps, and then in between all of that i also had another commission that took me a while to work out as well. and while all of that was happening, i struggled to get a good flow of this chapter, but i finally managed.
> 
> hope you enjoy!

Seungcheol’s excited nerves were kicked into overdrive as he waited for Jihyo to get home from work.

 

Earlier, while picking up the children, Seungcheol got grilled by Sunmi about his and Jihyo’s relationship. As Seungcheol was telling her about how his and Jihyo’s relationship was going, Seungcheol noticed how Sunmi’s face slowly shifted into one of confusion.

 

“Soooo,” Sunmi drew out the word. “have you two gone out on  _ dates _ ? Like at all?” Sunmi rolled her head forward and swung out her arms to her side, holding out her hands in question. The question made Seungcheol freeze, because no—he and Jihyo haven’t gone out on any dates, like at all, not without the kids at the very least.

 

“Oh my god,  _ dates _ !” Seungcheol slouched back into the chair he was sitting in with a large sigh, then he slid his hands down his face and groaned. “How have we been dating without going on any dates…”

 

Sunmi sighed as well, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms. “Seriously, you should get on that. Like,  _ today _ get on that.” Sunmi shot up from her seat and pulled Seungcheol up out of his seat, pushing him towards the door. “Sollie, Tzutzu, c’mon now, time to go home,” Sunmi called the children over, squealing at how cute they were as they cleaned up the classroom toys that they were playing quickly and ran over to Seungcheol hand in hand. Seungcheol smiled warmly at the sight of the kids and gathered them up in his arms.

 

“See you later, noona.” Seungcheol nodded, giggling when the kids waved goodbye to their teacher enthusiastically. “Thanks for the tip!” Seungcheol headed out with extra determination in his step, Sunmi’s energy fueling his fire enough for him to not overthink his decisions as he tended to do.

 

Except, Seungcheol forgot the little waiting game that ensued once he got home, because Jihyo was a school teacher now and she was pretty popular too. He came to learn this fact on one of his off days where he decided to pop in at Jihyo’s job during lunch period to bring her something nice to eat. She was surrounded by teachers—more of them male than not—which didn’t sit right with him until he caught Jihyo’s eye and she beamed at him and introduced him as her boyfriend to everyone almost excitedly (though the excitement might’ve been due to the fact that he brought her favorite food).

 

Thinking about that day calmed Seungcheol’s nerves a bit, but he was still a bit jittery, so he decided to call Jihoon preemptively to distract him for a few minutes at the very least.

 

“You remember I exist?” Jihoon asked with faux surprise as he picked up the phone. Seungcheol snorted and whined, complaining about how Jihoon should stop saying that or Seungcheol will really start to feel bad. Jihoon snorted himself at Seungcheol’s whining. “Alright, alright, I get it. Stop whining, you’re a grown man. Now what’s up?”

 

“So, it has been brought to my attention—” Seungcheol didn’t get to finish before he was cut off.

 

“Get to the point, Cheol. You’re such a drama queen,” Seungcheol could practically  _ hear _ Jihoon’s eye roll—and maybe he could actually hear someone else on the other side, but the sound was so quiet, so Seungcheol figured it was Jihoon’s television and brushed it off.

 

Seungcheol cleared his throat, offended. “I’m going to take Jihyo out on a date tonight, hopefully, and if she agrees, will you be able to babysit for us?” Seungcheol pouted.

 

“Yeah, su—” Jihoon started, but was cut off as well. There was a slight struggle for his cell phone and Seungcheol wondered if he should be worried for a moment until the person that stole Jihoon’s phone spoke up.

 

“ _ We’d love to, Cheollie!” _

 

“Um, excuse me? Wen Junhui?” Seungcheol choked out, shooting up from his spot on the sofa in surprise.

 

“ _ Fuck off—! _ ” Jihoon’s voice was soft and there was a lot of muffled grunting from the other side of the phone, and if Seungcheol hadn’t heard Jihoon tell Junhui to give him his phone back, Seungcheol would have hung up right then and there. “ _ Finally _ .” Jihoon sighed heavily, and there was a door slam behind him, a turn of a lock, and Junhui’s soft, muffled whining from the other side of whatever room Jihoon locked himself in.

 

“Um…” Seungcheol gaped, running a hand through his hair.

 

“We will  _ not _ speak of this. Ever.” Jihoon demanded, Seungcheol agreed (though he was tempted to tease Jihoon about how he could perfectly imagine the younger’s face glowing a bright red from embarrassment). “Hope you get to go on a nice date tonight.”

 

“Y—Yeah, me too...See you later maybe?”

 

“Yep.” Jihoon responded shortly and then he hung up. Seungcheol stared at his phone in disbelief for a while before he flopped back down on his sofa.

 

“What in the world…” Seungcheol’s brows knitted together and before he could think about how Jihoon and Junhui started to become a thing, Jihyo walked into the door. Seungcheol shot up from his spot once again, but he didn’t know what to do with himself, so Jihyo walked into the living room to the sight of Seungcheol awkwardly half-moving this way and that way.

 

Jihyo stopped humming and started laughing at the display, setting her bags down on one of the recliners before going up to Seungcheol and placing a gentle hand on his arm. “You malfunctioning isn’t anything out of the ordinary, but it seems particularly bad today. Are you okay?”

 

Seungcheol pursed his lips and cringed at himself. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He answered her with a chuckle, then he bent down and gave Jihyo a kiss before sitting down with her on the sofa. “So how was your day?” Seungcheol asked, pulling Jihyo into his side.

 

“It was fine, normal. I introduced the rainstick to the kids and I bet you can guess what they wanted to do for the rest of the class period.” Jihyo huffed with a fond grin. Seungcheol grinned as well, stroking her hair as Jihyo continued talking about what else happened during the day. Whenever she insisted that something was boring or unimportant, Seungcheol encouraged her to talk about it anyways, and he asked her about anything he didn’t quite understand since he wasn’t a teacher. Seungcheol’s attentiveness wasn’t usually bad, he loved to cling on Jihyo’s every word about her day, but he was being  _ especially _ attentive and caring today, and it made Jihyo pull away from him and give him a look.

 

“W-what?” Seungcheol chuckled nervously.

 

“What do you want?” Jihyo squinted at Seungcheol.

 

“Rude,” Seungcheol pouted and crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“But am I wrong in my assumption?” Jihyo fired back, quirking a brow at him and crossing her arms over her chest as well.

 

Seungcheol pouted even more and deflated a bit. “...No…” He responded in a mumble.

 

Jihyo huffed at Seungcheol. “As I thought. So what is it?”

 

“Well, it has been brought to my attention—” Seungcheol sat up properly, reading to retry his whole spiel from earlier, but Jihyo held up a hand.

 

“Good try, drama queen, but I’m gonna need you to speed it up,” Jihyo shifted sideways and leaned into the back of the sofa with her elbow, curling her hand up against the side of her head and resting on it. There was a teasing smile on Jihyo’s face, and if Seungcheol wasn’t so in love with the way Jihyo glowed when he was having fun, he would have protested and continued on with his spiel.

 

“Wanna go out on a date today?” Seungcheol mirrored Jihyo’s position, the playful pout on his face melting into a smile that was soft and warm. His smile grew wider as he watched Jihyo’s expression shift from one of subtle surprise to glowing excitement. “Sunmi noona brought it up earlier when I went to pick up the kids, and she said that we should have one today. I didn’t plan anything, but those can be the best kinds of dates, right?”

 

Jihyo giggled and practically launched herself at Seungcheol, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him eagerly. Seungcheol couldn’t help but chuckle against her lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist as well. “I’d love to go on a date!” Jihyo finally answered after the two pulled away from each other.

 

“Great,” Seungcheol said, breathless. Somehow, he ended up on his back with Jihyo hovering over him, and if their kiss left him a little breathless, the sight of Jihyo above him with the widest smile he’s seen yet had him almost gasping for air. “you should go and start getting ready while I message Jihoon back.”

 

“Okay,” Jihyo giggled once again, removing herself from on top of Seungcheol and hurrying off to their bedroom to get ready. Seungcheol laid on the couch after Jihyo left, taking a few deep breaths to center himself before getting up and searching for his phone so he could message Jihoon.

 

**cheol:** you’re on babysitting duty tonight!

 

**jihoon:** I AM SO EXCITED!!!

**jihoon:** I LOVE YOU

**jihoon:** R CHILDREN

 

**cheol:** junhui, you sound like a creep

**cheol:** i’m screenshotting that btw

 

**jihoon:** do you think the boss would notice if junhui went missing?

 

**cheol:** yes. yes he would.

**cheol:** so would everyone else that loves and cares for him.

 

**jihoon:** sounds like fake news

**jihoon:** we’ll start heading over in a bit, though

 

**cheol:** thanks hoonie!

 

**jihoon:** you can also go missing

 

**cheol:** not if hansol AND tzuyu have anything to say about it!!

 

**jihoon:** and jihyo?

 

**cheol:** you’ll probably end up missing if you mess with our first date night, honestly

 

**jihoon:** points have been made

**jihoon:** STOP TEXTING AND START DATING

 

**cheol:** alright, see you two later, i guess

 

Seungcheol stared at his phone once again in shock before getting up and going to get ready with Jihyo.

 

Jihoon and Junhui arrived a little bit after Seungcheol and Jihyo had gotten ready (dressed in a happy medium of formal and casual so that they’re ready for anything) and instructed the kids on how to behave when they’re gone. Junhui gave Jihyo the tightest of squeezes before he made a beeline for the kids, greeting them enthusiastically. Jihoon sighed and apologized for him to Jihyo, but she laughed and waved it off, mentioning how she’s glad to have people who care so much looking after the kids. There was a short conversation between Seungcheol and Jihoon about the usual babysitting procedure with Hansol, and then Jihyo also explained the specifics for how to properly take care of  Tzuyu (which Jihoon found was not much different from Hansol), then the two parents were off.

 

“You know, since it’s evening, how about we go see if we can catch a good movie?” Seungcheol suggested, opening Jihyo’s door for her (earning himself an embarrassed shove) before sliding into the driver’s seat.

 

“Ah, that sounds good. I’ve been wanting to see the new Avengers movie!” Jihyo clapped, excitedly. Seungcheol perked up at this, turning towards Jihyo with growing excitement as well. “Everyone at work keeps talking about it, and it’s been so hard not to get any spoilers,”

 

“Tell me about it! I’m kinda glad I moved departments, because I’ve heard from everyone else during lunch breaks that Soonyoung was on the verge of getting fired from how many times he’s caused office disruptions with his chronic spoiling disease.” Seungcheol and Jihyo shared a laugh as Seungcheol started up the car and headed out to the nearest movie theater.

 

The two of them left the movie theater as changed people. And after sitting in the car in silence for a few moments, the couple decided to go to a nearby family restaurant for dinner.

 

The family restaurant the two ate at was nice and cozy, and it allowed for the two of them to tuck themselves in a corner where they discussed the movie in hushed tones over Dakbal and Cola (they wanted to drink alcohol, but figured it’d be unwise to do so since Seungcheol was driving; however, they did decide to drink at least one when they got home later). Aside from heartbroken discussions about the newest Avengers movie, Seungcheol and Jihyo managed to switch the conversation to much lighter topics and they ended up having a much better time.

 

Seungcheol was adamant about discussing Junhui and Jihoon’s relationship—he pointed out that when Jihoon had gotten transferred, he ended up having to move as well. Seungcheol told Jihyo how he offered his apartment complex as a suggestion, since the location was decent enough, but Jihoon brushed him off with a swift “I’ll find a place”.

 

“Guess his place was with Junhui?” Jihyo snorted.

 

Seungcheol pouted and leaned back into his seat. “I guess....Even though  _ I’m _ his best friend, and  _ he’s _ the one always complaining about how I always forget that he exists!” Seungcheol grumbled, getting increasingly more annoyed with Jihoon’s rejection.

 

“You’re such a baby, oh my god.” Jihyo’s food nearly fell out of her mouth because he had started laughing too much at Seungcheol. “If this is you sober, I don’t want to imagine you drunk,” Seungcheol refused to say anything more as Jihyo continued to tease him. Eventually, though, the two got into a debate about who was the better drinker between the two of them.

 

“I’ve lived longer, so it’s obviously me!” Seungcheol pointed at himself with a cocky smirk on his face.

 

“That’s rich coming from a man that spilled his guts out to the teacher of his kid,” Jihyo smirked back, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms.

 

“That—That was a rare moment of weakness!” Seungcheol stuttered, and he pursed his lips in order to hide an embarrassed smile.

 

Jihyo leaned back forward on the table to prop her elbows up on the surface, and she linked her fingers together so that she could rest her chin on top of them. “And yet, it was still a display of weakness all the same.” Jihyo teasingly whispered, eyes disappearing as her smile grew wider. “Just admit that I’m better than you, babe,” Jihyo’s voice was velvety smooth, and to make it worse, she tilted her head to the side a bit.

 

Seungcheol gulped. “That’s a low blow…” He huffed, covering his quickly spreading smile with his hand. Jihyo laughed, light and child-like as she always did, and the two of them finished their dinner while making sure to check on the kids and Jihoon and Junhui (they received a selfie back from the two with the kids saying that they were watching Tzuyu’s favorite movies; Seungcheol and Jihyo also sent a selfie back with their finished food while also wishing the two men good luck). 

 

After a nice, filling dinner, Seungcheol and Jihyo decided to go for a simple ride around town.

 

“Actually, didn’t you say that your hometown was Guri? It’s not that far from here, we should go there,” Seungcheol offered, pulling out of the parking lot of the restaurant with ease considering how late it was getting.

 

Jihyo raised a brow and turned towards Seungcheol. “That was like forever ago that I mentioned that, and it was only in passing, how in the world did you remember?”

 

“It was just one of the little things I filed away. I feel like there’s a lot of people in Seoul that aren’t originally from Seoul, so it’s always interesting to catch where people are from,” Seungcheol shrugged with an easy smile and he held out his hand for Jihyo to hold as they made their way around town before heading off to Guri.

 

Most of the drive was in a comfortable silence—Jihyo put on some of her favorite music and Seungcheol listened as she hummed along to it; sometimes jihyo would sing randomly, sometimes Seungcheol would break the silence and request her to sing him something. Of course, that also meant that Seungcheol had to sing back to her, and Jihyo was surprised by how nice of a voice Seungcheol actually had. This discovery spurred the two of them to break the silence between them completely and sing their hearts out together to songs they both grew up listening to.

 

As expected, it wasn’t long before they reached Guri, and Jihyo’s mouth moved a mile a minute as they moved further into the city. She pointed out various shops she used to go to with her parents and especially the playground she would stay at for hours on end (or try to, at least). Seungcheol grinned while listening to Jihyo recall certain instances from her childhood whenever the opportunity had struck; he loved the way she glowed when talking about the past despite everything that’s happened to her, and it was times like these when Seungcheol was certain that Park Jihyo was truly the Sun personified.

 

“You know, we should go to Daegu one day. All four of us.” Jihyo shifted in her seat, turning more towards Seungcheol. She grabbed Seungcheol’s hand that was still holding hers with her other hand as well, and gently stroked at it as Seungcheol began driving them back home (all of the soothing riding around right after dinner was making them sleepy). “You deserve to show us around your hometown excitedly too,” Jihyo chuckled.

 

The thought sombered Seungcheol as much as it excited him; he loved the idea of taking his little family out and about his hometown, but the reminder that that is where his  _ actual _ relatives live—the ones that made his already stormy youth even worse for wear—made him feel a bit tense. Jihyo sensed it, though, and she gave his hand a squeeze with both of hers, reassuring him silently. “Yeah...we should. Sounds like it’d be a lot of fun,” Seungcheol took several small glances at Jihyo with a relaxed smile on his face.

 

The drive back home was much like the drive to Guri: it was spent in a comfortable silence decorated by soft instrumental music and melodic humming from the couple.

 

When they arrived home, Seungcheol and Jihyo found Jihoon and Junhui resting against each other on the couch, the children also resting in their arms. The couple grinned at each other before taking the kids to bed, then Seungcheol guided a sleepy Jihoon and Junhui to the guest bedroom (Jihyo had long since moved herself into Seungcheol’s room once the two of them became official).

 

As the two of them crawled into bed, Jihyo thanked Seungcheol for taking her out today. “Today’s date just might’ve been the best date I’ve ever had, like, ever,” Jihyo chuckled.

 

“Honestly, we should be thanking Sunmi noona. She’s the one who reminded me that’s how dating worked.” The two of them shared a soft laugh in agreement, and before they went to sleep, they made a quick agreement to have their official date days scheduled for Saturdays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, i apologize in advance if the next update takes a while as well. my dad had a medical emergency today and i don't know if i'll be able to write until he's home which won't be for another three days (hopefully, if all goes well. fingers crossed!). honestly, this chapter probably wouldn't have been out yet if i wasn't already nearly done by the time we had to go to the hospital.
> 
> anyways, i might try to work on the chapters to distract myself from getting too anxious, but...i doubt it...


	19. with daddy

It’s finally summertime and the little family decide to head out to Daegu, Seungcheol’s hometown.

 

“It’s weird being back…” Seungcheol mused with a distracted chuckle as they cruised through his hometown. Much like Jihyo did when they took a stroll through her hometown on their first date night, Seungcheol absently mused at all of the places he remembered visiting as a child. When they got around to his neighborhood, they stopped at the nearby park because Hansol and Tzuyu wanted to play where Seungcheol had played all those years ago.

 

The rest of the little family’s vacation was spent together, of course. They went to all of Daegu’s most notable tourist sites, and then Seungcheol took them all to less appreciated places that he found the most joy in. And while the topic of Seungcheol’s family came up naturally amongst the children, Jihyo always swooped in and deflected the topic to something else so Seungcheol wouldn’t have to relive whatever pain he was adamant about not acknowledging.

 

There had been times where Jihyo wondered if this was another topic she should help Seungcheol open up about, and she had tried once, but the look in Seungcheol’s eye was a lot different from the Jeonghan situation. The look in Seungcheol’s eyes when the topic of his family came up was a much deeper sadness—the thought of his family seemed to exhaust him terribly, so Jihyo let the topic rest indefinitely.

 

In the end, when it came down to their last day in Daegu, Seungcheol and Jihyo decided to let the children decide what to do for the day.

 

“I wanna play games!” Tzuyu exclaimed while jumping up and down.

 

“I want to play with the piano!” Hansol suggested excitedly at the same time.

 

The two children looked at each other in confusion for a few seconds before going back and forth between what they wanted to do for the day. Seungcheol and Jihyo shared a look before collecting the children in their arms: Tzuyu in Seungcheol’s, Hansol in Jihyo’s.

 

“Kids, calm down.” Jihyo chuckled, smoothing Hansol’s hair down gently and tucking his head under her chin; Hansol simply huffed and pouted, but it wasn’t as aggressive as it could have been because Jihyo seemed to calm him down efficiently. Seungcheol smiled at the display then worked on calming Tzuyu down by making funny faces and talking to her in a silly voice. Tzuyu tried to resist his efforts, but it was in vain as she burst into tiny giggles and started making funny faces back at Seungcheol. “We can do both things, right?” Jihyo followed up with a look towards Seungcheol.

 

“Sure, we can just split up for today. One day apart won’t kill us.” Seungcheol laughed. “I’ll take Tzuyu to go play games, and you can take Hansol to play the piano...though, I really don’t remember there ever  _ being _ a piano in the hotel…”

 

“Of course you don’t,” Jihyo teased under her breath with a grin. Seungcheol wasn’t going to pay attention to what she had said until Hansol snorted and broke out into quiet giggles.

 

“Wait, what—” Seungcheol began to ask by Jihyo hurriedly cut him off.

 

“Nothing, bye! Have a great time, don’t forget to be back in two hours for a quick dinner before we start heading back!” Jihyo and Hansol waved goodbye to Seungcheol and Tzuyu before they were off. Seungcheol and Tzuyu shared a look and then a shake of their heads.

 

“Bullies?” Seungcheol asked with a pout.

 

Tzuyu nodded. “Bullies.”

 

After their little agreement, Seungcheol took Tzuyu up to the hotel’s game room. Tzuyu had wiggled out of his arms and ran around to every game in amazement. Seungcheol watched as Tzuyu pointed and exclaimed excitedly about how many toys were in the claw machine or how did they get a bike (motorcycle) in there and why doesn’t it go anywhere.

 

“You’ve never been to a game room before, Tzuyu? Or you’ve never seen an arcade?” Seungcheol asked, taking Tzuyu’s hand and leading her back towards the entrance of the game room so they could get tokens. Seungcheol made sure to get a lot since Tzuyu was so fascinated by everything (and he maybe wanted to try his hand at the claw machine).

 

“Nope! Are they all like this?” Tzuyu asked as she watched the tokens pour of the machine. Seungcheol had to take a few minutes to explain that it was special money that only game rooms or arcades took.

 

“I suppose? Arcades are a lot bigger though, have a lot more games, and when you win a game, you get little tickets. With those, you can exchange them for prizes,”

 

“Eschain?” Tzuyu hopped over to the motorcycle game after Seungcheol collected their tokens.

 

“ _ Ex-chan-ge _ , Tzuyu.” Seungcheol chuckled, helping the little girl onto the motorcycle. “It means that you give the tickets that you win to whoever is working behind the counter, and they give you something back. That something is whatever prize you want, but of course, it has to be something that they’re giving away,” Seungcheol continued explaining as he instructed Tzuyu to hold onto the handlebars tightly so she wouldn’t fall off while he put in the coins.

 

“I want to go to an arcay!” Tzuyu kicked her little legs excitedly, and Seungcheol wished he could convert his memories into a video or  _ something _ because it was one of the cutest things he had ever seen.

 

“We should go to one together sometimes, then,” Seungcheol smiled warmly at her.

 

After putting in the coins, Seungcheol hopped onto the bike along with Tzuyu and they both selected what kind of bike they wanted and what course they wanted to play. Tzuyu enjoyed the motorcycle game at first, until Seungcheol got a bit too into it and leaned farther than Tzuyu knew they could lean and scared her. Seungcheol immediately stopped playing and held Tzuyu in his arms, apologizing profusely for scaring her. Seungcheol decided that the two should play something else and so he took Tzuyu over to play Skee Ball.

 

The two of them had a much better time playing Skee ball; Tzuyu managed to sink a few balls in on her own and, since Seungcheol had to hold her, he was able to control his urge to get too into the game. After Skeeball, Seungcheol let Tzuyu play whatever game she wanted next; most of the games she chose happened to be ball games, so the two of them ended up playing basketball for quite a bit.

Seungcheol checked the time on his phone, and when he noticed how much closer it was until they had to head back, he finally brought up the claw game.

 

“The one with all of the toys?” Tzuyu’s eyes grew wider at the machine that Seungcheol pointed out. Seungcheol barely got in a singular nod before Tzuyu ran over to it, Seungcheol trailing behind.

 

“Now, Tzuyu, this game is really tricky. A lot of the times, it’s really hard to get stuff from here, so don’t be too sad if we can’t get a toy, okay? I’ll try my best though!” Seungcheol bent down to Tzuyu’s eye-level.

 

“Okay, I won’t be,” Tzuyu smiled brightly at Seungcheol, and he smiled back before putting coins into the machine. Tzuyu stood between Seungcheol and the machine, tip-toeing to try and see Seungcheol play. Seungcheol concentrated really hard on the claw machine, knowing very well the reality of playing the game, but very determined to get  _ something _ out of it.

 

In the end, Seungcheol lost the chance to get every single cute toy there was in the machine (which wasn’t much), and with his last few coins, he tried to get another one that Tzuyu might like. However, Seungcheol ended up hitting the button too fast and he ended up grabbing a Yoda plushie instead. Seungcheol watched as the claw grabbed onto the Yoda plushie perfectly and dragged it over to the drop area without fail. Tzuyu cheered and grabbed the toy out of the drop area, hugging the Yoda plushie to her chest, jumping up and down.

 

“Sorry I couldn’t get a cute one, Tzu,” Seungcheol sighed.

 

“Yoda is cute!” Tzuyu whined. “Dahyunnie and Chaeyoungie call me Yoda too! I’m happy, Mr. Cheollie, thank you!” Tzuyu beamed, and Seungcheol’s heart swelled.

 

“You’re right, kiddo. Yoda is cute,” Seungcheol bent down to Tzuyu’s eye-level once again and he booped her nose, causing her to giggle. “and maybe this guy, too, I guess.” Seungcheol pointed at Yoda and the two laughed together. Seungcheol checked his phone once again and remembered that the two had to start heading back to their hotel room. Seungcheol hoisted Tzuyu up on his shoulders and they left the game room.

 

Along the way back, Seungcheol and Tzuyu talked about arcade games and Seungcheol had to explain that there weren’t arcades for the video games that he played at home, but there were internet cafes which was close enough. Somewhere along the way, Tzuyu had stopped talking, and Seungcheol wondered what the little girl could have been thinking about.

 

“Mr. Cheollie, can I ask you something?”

 

“Of course, Tzuyu,” Seungcheol slowed his pace a bit.

 

“Can I call you Daddy like Hansollie?” Tzuyu’s voice was even smaller than usual when asking this question, and he felt her rest her chin on his. Seungcheol stopped in his tracks and let Tzuyu down from his shoulders only to bring her into his arms. “I call you that with Dahyunnie and Chaeyoungie sometimes...Sorry…”

 

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, sweetie.” Seungcheol pressed a small kiss to Tzuyu’s head. “It’s more than okay, because even though your Mommy and I aren’t married, we’re all still a family. I intend to keep it that way for as long as your mommy will want to. You and Jihyo are the best thing to happen to Hansol and I in a long time,”

 

“Daddy!” Tzuyu beamed the brightest Seungcheol’s ever seen her, and she hugged him tightly. Seungcheol picked Tzuyu up and spun her around, holding her close to his chest the entire way back to their hotel room, with Tzuyu excitedly calling him “daddy” and Seungcheol calling her “daughter” the entire way as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back! everything is good with my dad now (has been for a few days, thankfully!)
> 
> hope you enjoyed!


	20. with mommy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> double update because these chapters were just supposed to be short & sweet ones!

While Seungcheol and Tzuyu went to play games, Jihyo took Hansol to the piano room in the hotel. Jihyo had asked the staff of the hotel before if it was okay to use that room, and they had told her that it was hardly ever touched, so it’d be a pleasant change to hear some soothing melodies coming from there. Jihyo and Hansol thanked the staff with bright smiles and started heading off to the room, but they were stopped.

 

“By the way…” The staff worker they were talking to seemed hesitant to continue. “Is he yours?”

 

Jihyo glanced at Hansol and then back at the staff. “Kind of?” Jihyo responded unsurely, hoping that she doesn’t get accused of kidnapping or something outrageous. “He’s my boyfriend’s son. We switched kids for today since they wanted to do different stuff.” Jihyo explained.

 

The worker made a sound of understanding. “Oh, well that’s interesting. It’s good that single parents can find each other, though you do look a bit young…”

 

“I get that quite a bit.” Jihyo chuckled awkwardly. She remembered Seungcheol always talking about running into these kinds of situations, and while she was also a young, single parent, Jihyo never experienced many questions from others. The thought of having to have a conversation like this one as many times as Seungcheol has was exhausting already. “Um, well, we’ll be going now…”

 

“Have a great day!” The stuff sent a quick wave to Jihyo and Hansol before turning the opposite direction and going on their own way. Jihyo sighed and looked towards Hansol who also let out a small sigh of his own. The two quickly made their way to the piano room of the hotel, not wanting to run into anyone else.

 

When they got there, Jihyo wondered aloud to Hansol just how the two of them do that almost every time they go out. Hansol ended up whining a lot about how aunties were scary, but not scarier than mothers that carry around marriage papers with them everywhere. Hansol even explained that some mothers had remembered Seungcheol’s face and shopping schedule so that they could bring their daughters around for him to meet.

 

“You two have been very tough soldiers for so long,” Jihyo placated the child who seemed far more distressed then a child ever should be.

 

Nonetheless, after the complaining and sharing stories, Jihyo taught Hansol how to play all kinds of songs on the piano, and the two of them sung together to each one. They sung many children’s rhymes with each other, and if a melody they played didn’t have a song, they would work together to make one up. Hansol even insisted that they record whatever song they came up with just incase they forget it.

 

“You sing so well, Hansol,” Jihyo praised Hansol genuinely after they had finished another song. She had been teaching him on and off ever since recognizing that the little boy had thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

“Thank you,” Hansol replied with a bright smile. Jihyo always made sure to praise Hansol’s singing, and she would be lying if somewhere along the way, it hadn’t mostly been about the smiles she received in return. The compliments always seemed to make Hansol extremely happy.

 

“Hey, Hansol?” Jihyo asked, still pressing at keys along with the child.

 

“Yes?” Hansol replied distractedly, trying his best to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” again.

 

“You really like music, don’t you?” Jihyo asked, removing her hands from the piano, watching at Hansol slowly pull the children’s song together on his own. Hansol paused, though, because he nodded enthusiastically to Jihyo’s question. “When you become an adult, do you want to do something with music?”

 

Hansol nodded enthusiastically again. “I want to make music that can make Daddy feel better.”

 

“What do you mean, Sol?” Jihyo’s brows knitted together.

 

“When Papa left, Daddy always played music, but it never made him feel better. He would always cry. I want to make music that will always make Daddy feel happy!” Hansol looked up at Jihyo and smiled. Jihyo ran her hands through Hansol’s hair before bending down and kissing Hansol on his head.

 

“Your Daddy truly is lucky to have a wonderful child like you, Hansol,” Jihyo’s voice was soft and she rested her head against Hansol’s for a few seconds. Hansol shifted a bit, making Jihyo raise her head, and then he was standing in her lap.

 

“You have me too,” Hansol said simply before hugging Jihyo tightly. Jihyo’s eyes watered and he hugged Hansol back. “...Mommy…”

 

“Mommy?” Jihyo questioned, trying to hide her shaky voice.

 

“Is...Is that okay? Can I call you Mommy?” Hansol pulled away from Jihyo and looked at her curiously. “I always want to, because you’re like my mommy already, but I didn’t know if you would like it or not…”

 

Jihyo smiled warmly at Hansol and she cupped his tiny face in her hands before pulling him closer, pressing a sweet kiss onto his cheek. “I’d be honored to be your Mommy, Sollie,” The two giggled and hugged some more. Afterwards, Hansol suggested that they should make a song for the two of them, and Jihyo agreed happily. They worked on the song earnestly, and they had gotten so lost in it that when Jihyo’s phone buzzed, it startled them both.

 

**actual child cheol:** you guys are late!

 

Seungcheol had sent a text to Jihyo with a picture attached of him and Tzuyu eating pizza. Hansol gasped and Jihyo checked the time. It was nearly thirty minutes after they were supposed to start heading back to their room.

 

**purinhyo:** don’t eat it all or sol will cry!

 

**actual child cheol:** rude! i would never make my son cry!

 

**purinhyo:** debatable

**purinhyo:** we’re on our way tho

 

Jihyo laughed at the emojis Seungcheol sent in response before tucking her phone into her pocket. She grabbed Hansol’s hand and the two of them hurried back to their room so they could join Seungcheol and Tzuyu for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, if you don't know, purin is the korean name for jigglypuff which is what pokemon jihyo is said to look like lol
> 
> anyways, hope you enjoyed! next chapter is the last ;;;;;


	21. we found more than a little bit of happiness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm soft and emo.

“We should go out today,” Seungcheol proposed out of the blue one day.

 

“Hm?” Jihyo had just gotten home not too long ago and the two of them were lounging on the couch. The apartment was empty save for them, because Junhui and Jihoon came over earlier along with Seungcheol with the excuse that they missed hanging out with the kids (though they come over frequently along with many of their other friends; how their apartment turned into their  _ extremely _ large group’s hangout spot— they don’t know, but they can’t really complain about the situation since they enjoy the company).

 

“We should go out, you know. The kids aren’t home and we’re feisty, young adults. C’mon, what do you say?” Seungcheol grinned and quirked his brows cheekily.

 

“That sounds suggestive, but fine, I’m game,” Jihyo chuckled, getting up from her comfortable position tucked snugly into Seungcheol’s side, Seungcheol following her as they both went back to their room to get ready.

 

Seungcheol takes Jihyo out on a date that was much like their first one a year ago. They got to a movie first—this time it’s a horror movie that was supposedly so scary that even people like Jeonghan and Jihoon couldn’t stop thinking about it at night—of course, Seungcheol watched a whole entire zero percent of the movie while Jihyo had to work to hide in her giggles in between slightly terrified screams. After the movie, Seungcheol had to go collect himself in the bathroom before the two of them headed off to their next destination (Jihyo drove this time, fearing for the safety since Seungcheol was so jumpy). 

 

Next was dinner, which Jihyo decided to take mercy on Seungcheol and choose a restaurant that was packed and well-lit. Jihyo spent most of the dinner calming Seungcheol down and showing him videos of the kids; some of the videos were old favorites while some were new videos that she desperately asked Jihoon and Junhui to send to bring Seungcheol back to reality. After Seungcheol calmed down, their conversation consisted of Jihyo asking Seungcheol about his intentions for the night and Seungcheol awkwardly avoiding answering seriously even if it cost him his image since Jihyo was certain he was planning something naughty.

 

“I promise I’m not planning anything dirty,” Seungcheol whined, his ears burning a bright red, and he wanted nothing more than to curl into himself and die.

 

“You sure?” Jihyo squinted at him, suspicious.

 

“ _ Yes _ .” Seungcheol sighed. “Trust me, you’d know if I was. We wouldn’t have left the apartment otherwise,” Seungcheol rested his chin in his hands and smirked, sticking his tongue out. The flip in Seungcheol’s demeanor and voice had Jihyo flushing and curling into herself.

 

“I think we’re done here,” Jihyo cleared her throat, cleaning up their table and getting ready to go.

 

“Don’t get too excited cupcake, I’ve got another destination in mind,” Seungcheol laughed at Jihyo’s reflexive pout; and maybe, in the back of his mind, he was considering just heading home and relieving Jihyo’s disappointment, but then he remembered the point of this special date and he regained focus on the situation. The two of them left the restaurant after paying and were off once again. Seungcheol set off on the way to Jihyo’s hometown, specifically with the park she used to go to when she was younger in mind. When they arrive, they play around and have a lot more fun than they should have as grown adults, then again it was dark and there was no one around to judge them.

 

“Oh?” Jihyo flinched. She held her hand out for a few seconds in order to confirm the cool droplet she felt on her exposed shoulders. “It’s starting to rain...Cheol, we should go,” Jihyo frowned, slowing her pace on the swing to a stop and she reluctantly got off.

 

“What? Why? A little rain won’t stop us!” Seungcheol chuckled childishly and continued making his way up the slide. Jihyo sighed and rolled her eyes, insisting that they should go before it starts raining too hard, but Seungcheol refused to listen. She watched him keep playing at first, hesitant to join in because she was worried about getting too wet and ruining Seungcheol’s car.

 

“Cheol, seriously,” Jihyo flinched more when the rain began to pick up; the droplets were cool against her skin, and quite honestly, it was refreshing in the mid-August heat. However, Jihyo still couldn’t bring herself to enjoy it. “it’s starting to pick up really fast!”

 

“Oh really?” Seungcheol grinned, and he paused at the top of the monkey bars, seemingly scanning the area. He swiped his bottom lip with his tongue mischievously, swiped his hair back, and then carefully maneuvered his way across the monkey bars closer to Jihyo before jumping off of them right next to her into a puddle.

 

“Choi Seungcheol!” Jihyo screamed as she got splashed. Seungcheol laughed and jumped, far too excited that his plan worked out, and he teased Jihyo until the woman glared at him and chased him around. The two of them continued playing in the rain: they jumped in puddles to splash each other, and then they started jumping in puddles together in order to create bigger splashes, all in all having the time of their lives.

 

Eventually, the two of them decide to settle down at one of the benches at the park, not minding the rain too much anymore since they were both soaking wet at this point.

 

“We seem to get caught in the rain a lot, huh?” Jihyo started reminiscing. She mentioned about the first time they got caught in the rain, when Seungcheol came to pick her and Tzuyu up at the florist shop. “You wore a white shirt back then, I remember very clearly. That was such an unintentional low blow, it was so hard for me to stop myself from staring.”

 

Seungcheol laughed and cheered. “I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who felt attraction early on!” Jihyo rolled her eyes and nudged at Seungcheol, moving her wet hair back once again. Seungcheol and Jihyo get spurred on to talk about the other time they played in the rain like this, and Jihyo noticed that Seungcheol was asking her about her opinion on him a lot more than he’s ever done before.

 

“Okay, Cheol, you’re really being weird now. What’s going on?” Jihyo turned towards Seungcheol. She took ahold of his hand and laced their fingers together.

 

Seungcheol nervously licked at his bottom lip and pushed his hair back then ran his hand down his face. Seungcheol also turned towards Jihyo and cleared his throat. “As I tried to navigate my young adult life with a son, my only goal was to find a little bit of happiness.” Seungcheol started, voice shaky and soft. “It seemed impossible for me, because I couldn’t move on from the past—I didn’t  _ want _ to move on from the past...or, at least, I thought I didn’t.” Seungcheol paused and stared down at their intertwined hands, rubbing Jihyo’s with his thumb slowly.

 

“Cheol…?” Jihyo uttered awkwardly, her voice shaky as well.

 

Seungcheol looked up at Jihyo with a soft smile. “It was because of you and Tzuyu that I was able to find a lot more than just a little bit of happiness: I found closure, new friends, new opportunities—I was able to find myself again.” Seungcheol’s smile widened and he exhaled deeply, looking up at the sky momentarily. “And just like it’s always done for us, I hope this rain can wash away our past regrets, and birth new bouts of happiness for the both of us. Not just as boyfriend and girlfriend, but as husband and wife—”

 

Jihyo choked. “Seungcheol—”

 

Seungcheol chuckled and pulled something out of his pocket before getting up and bending down on one knee in front of Jihyo. “So, Park Jihyo, will you marry me?”

 

Jihyo gasped, and then she broke down into a fit of giggles, tackling Seungcheol to the ground, kissing him. “Yes, yes,  _ yes _ !” Seungcheol laughed and cheered once again, because Jihyo was actually saying yes to him, though at this point, he really didn’t know why he should have expected anything less. The two of them cuddled on the wet, muddy ground, laughing and possibly crying, but there was really no way to tell (though they were certain that the other was definitely crying).

 

Heading back to their apartment was an uncomfortable journey due to being soaking wet and  _ muddy _ , but most of the uncomfort was shrouded out by the fact that the two of them were now  _ engaged _ . When they arrived back to their apartment, it was full of their friends (Jihoon and Junhui returned back to their apartment because the children missed their toys and boys; they supposed the rest came over to either have an impromptu playdate or ambush them since it wasn’t one of their regular date nights).

 

“What in the world—” Nayeon started to question the two of them, but she didn’t get to finish her question because Jihyo was rushing into the apartment after barely slipping her shoes off in time, and flashing off the ring on her finger.

 

“He proposed!” Jihyo exclaimed, screaming, soon followed by the rest of their friends. Jihyo was surrounded by her friends who were jumping and screaming and hugging her despite her messy appearance. Seungcheol’s situation was pretty much the same; he was being congratulated from all around, there was a lot of screaming in his ears by Soonyoung and Junhui, he received big hugs from Jihoon, Joshua, and Jeonghan especially, while Wonwoo resorted to patting him on his shoulders with the biggest smile on his face while holding back his tears.

 

“Okay, okay,” Jeonghan eventually took control of the situation as the second oldest of the group and calmed everyone down. “We can continue freaking out after these two get cleaned up, we don’t want them getting sick! Also, we’re going to need to borrow some clothes…unfortunate for your guys’ closests…” Jeonghan grinned, and ushered Seungcheol and Jihyo off to their room to get cleaned up while he and Nayeon took liberties in raiding their wardrobes for clothes for everyone to temporarily change into.

 

Seungcheol and Jihyo got cleaned up rather quickly, not really being able to get too caught up into each other with a living room full of their friends  _ and _ another room full of children who are definitely curious about the commotion from earlier. So when they exited their room freshly showered and and changed, and went back into the living room, the children were milling about, curiously asking their respective parents about all of the screaming.

 

“Mommy, Daddy!” Hansol and Tzuyu ran up to Seungcheol and Jihyo, arms up. The two picked up their children—Hansol in Seungcheol’s arms and Tzuyu in Jihyo’s—and gave them little pecks on the tops of their heads.

 

“Did we scare you guys with all of the screaming earlier?” Jihyo asked in a sweet voice, heading further into the living room with Seungcheol right beside her.

 

“Yes!” Both children answer with definite pouts on their faces. Seungcheol and Jihyo share an apologetic laugh and hug their children closer to them.

 

“Sorry kiddos, we’re just really excited about something super big,” Seungcheol explained.

 

“What is it?” Hansol asked, looking up at his father with big, bright eyes.

 

“Aunties and Uncles wouldn’t tell us why you screamed,” Tzuyu pouted again. Seungcheol and Jihyo shared another excited look and moved over to the rest of the group and set their children down onto the couch along with their friends and the other kids.

 

“Alright kids, we’ll tell you why everyone was screaming,” Jihyo brought her hands up to her face, not being able to hide her excitement.

 

“Mommy! Is that ring a part of it?” Tzuyu pointed out with her unusually sharp eyes.

 

“Oh?” Hansol tilted his head to the side. “Where did that come from?”

 

“Kids, Jihyo and I are engaged now,” Seungcheol finally revealed. All of the little ones didn’t quite understand, but Momo gasped and clapped excitedly.

 

“Why, why, why?” Dahyun climbed over her mother’s laps to get to Momo.

 

“They’re getting  _ married _ !” Momo exclaimed, voice incredibly high. A few seconds later, Momo had started crying and she went over to hug Jihyo and Seungcheol tightly.

 

“ _ Married?! _ ” Dahyun’s entire face lit up and she screamed, climbing down from the sofa to face her own mothers and jump up and down. Chaeyoung didn’t say much other than a quick and respectful “congratulations” before she just went over to her older sister to check on her since Momo was still crying, but now into Mina’s shoulder instead of Jihyo’s. Hansol and Tzuyu also climbed down from the couch and went over to their parents excitedly.

 

“Are you serious? Are you getting married?” Hansol asked quietly, afraid that it might turn out to not be true.

 

“Yes, Sollie, we’re really getting married,” Seungcheol cupped his son’s face into his hands and stroked his cheeks lightly.

 

“When? Tomorrow?” Tzuyu asked, jumping up and down in front of Jihyo.

 

“Not tomorrow, baby. Weddings take a lot of time and money, but definitely someday in the near enough future,” Jihyo chuckled, stroking her daughter’s hair.

 

“I can’t wait!” Tzuyu smiled brightly; her eyes crinkled and her elusive dimple was out for the world to see. She was jumping around and dancing and exclaiming loudly, acting quite unlike her usual self.

 

“Me either!” Hansol exclaimed as well; Hansol wasn’t a gloomy kid, far from it, but his smile was unlike Seungcheol or Jihyo had ever seen. Hansol’s smile was wide, and his nose scrunched, and he just looked so excited.

 

Now that the news was broken to the kids—Chan had actually broke away from his parents as well and stumbled his way into Seungcheol’s lap with a bright smile and an attempt at a “congratulations”—the frenzy from before resumed and the group managed to execute a last minute party for the newly engaged couple. Which included Jihyo detailing their entire night and Seungcheol having to stutter through his proposal speech, a lot more embarrassed with all of their friends watching and still judging him from Jihyo’s retelling of the movie portion of their date. There was also a retelling of their relationship from start to finish, both of their sides being explained with no details left out. 

 

At the end of the night, after everyone reluctantly filtered out of Seungcheol and Jihyo’s apartment, the couple gathered their slowly dozing off children and headed off to their bedroom. Seungcheol and Jihyo tucked Hansol and Tzuyu in between them and instead of performing their usual routine of reading Hansol something from his favorite book and singing Tzuyu to sleep, they retold their own love story again as per the children’s request.

 

“Everything feels a lot more embarrassing after laying it all out for everyone to hear,” Seungcheol admitted quietly, patting Hansol’s chest as the little boy slept.

 

Jihyo hummed. “I know, but it also feels really good. Retelling where we started and where we ended up...what was going through our minds all the while...seeing just how much we’ve truly changed,” Jihyo replied, fingers running through Tzuyu’s hair lazily.

 

“It’s amazing how I could feel the same amount of love with you in just year, as I did with Jeonghan in the several years we were together…” Seungcheol amazed.

 

“And it’s amazing how I could feel a lot more love from our one year than Mark and I’s few years together,” Jihyo huffed.

 

Seungcheol and Jihyo glanced at each other from across their children, and then as carefully as they could, they leaned over the two and shared a chaste kiss before going back to their positions.

 

“Here’s to the start of forever,” Seungcheol grinned goofily, even Jihyo could tell in the semi-darkness of the room.

 

“To the start of forever.” Jihyo replied dreamily with her own goofy grin on her face as she stared at her ring once again, then her and Seungcheol linked their fingers together before finally drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and this is it! the end of "to find a little bit of happiness". it feels weird that i'm ending this, because when i started it, i truly had no idea where i was going to go with it. i just had a daydream and then kept expanding it, and then i just had to write it out lol.
> 
> i think this is the first fic where i've really put effort into making sure things flowed correctly, and plot points got resolved; though there are some that haven't been, which i'm hoping to cover in the sequel i've already started planning (not much had gotten planned though because i don't really know what i want to do with the sequel besides resolving some of the leftover points in here and romance stuff).
> 
> thank you so much to everyone who has enjoyed this fic! i didn't expect it to get so much traction since it's really niche (not many people are into m/f ships, and even so, not many people are into twiceteen since they don't have many interactions besides little, side ones). either way, i'm glad there have been people that liked this regardless of the ship, and i'm so thankful for all of the nice comments as well! they always cheered me up!
> 
> honestly, in my outline, i ended this chapter at the part where cheolhyo come home and announce that they're engaged, but just like the whole scene with their squad's meeting up and hansol finally meeting jeonghan, i decided to add in the scene with the kids because they're also really important (duh @ me, why do i always tend to forget them fjksl).
> 
> anyways, this ending note is getting about as long as some of my fics, so i'll end it here lmao. once again, thank you to everyone who had read this fic, gave kudos, bookmarked it, and commented! i really appreciate the support along the way, and i hope you guys enjoyed the ride thus far. see you in the sequel ~~that i hope to not have too many problems planning out oof~~!

**Author's Note:**

> my main twitter: @treasuregyu  
> my writing twitter: @uzumakidahyun  
> hope you enjoyed ♡


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